Out of the Shadows
by Marianne Magnum
Summary: Nylelyth is running from a past she can't even remember. When her path crosses with Thorin Oakenshield's company, specifically one dwarf prince, can she find herself, remember her past, and embrace her powers, all while helping the company reclaim the mountain? Or will destiny have other plans for her? (Past chapters under review/editing!)
1. New Beginnings

**Hey guys, a few heads up before we start! I changed the name of my OC, so I had to go back and change everything, if you see any mistakes please let me know ASAP! Also I do not own any of the characters in this story except Nylelyth, and Malkyr! Thank you all for reading, and please let me know what you think!**

**Nylelyth:**

The rain fell hard on my hood, and dripped down landing on my arms. There really was no position to sit in and not get soaking wet while it was pouring down rain. I had been traveling for two days, both of those days had ended in rain and sitting against a tree trying not to freeze to death. Maybe, traveling just wasn't for me? I mean I am very skilled with a bow, I can hunt, but the life on the road was not one of my specialties. I had spent most of my life longing to see mountains and the rolling rivers. I had dreamed of traveling in the wilderness, just me and the wild. As a child my mother had told me stories of dragons, and beasts that I could not have thought of in my wildest imagination. The rain had stopped now as I thought more about if I should push on, or if I should return home. But what home? I thought to myself. My heart yearned for freedom, for the great plains, and mountains that I would see. But it also yearned for the comfort and warmth of home, I knew that I would never feel that again. I stood up, the rain had stopped. Walking in the direction my heart took me, I pushed on.

It had been some time since I had made my decision to push on. The stars had revealed themselves from under the clouds. Looking at the stars was something my mother and I always did together, so I found peace in this. I found the closest tree with the best view to climb and I hoisted myself up to the highest branch that could hold my weight. Climbing was also something that I was very talented at. After a while of gazing, I could tell something was not right. Like I was being watched. My body tensed, fingers slowly grasping my bow. There was definitely someone watching me. My heart raced, I could hear it in my ears. Footsteps, leaves shuffling, they paused. They saw me, they've found me I thought. Whipping around, I drew an arrow faster than a blink. The tip toes of my feet balancing carefully on the thin branch I had been lounging on. The person who had been stalking me from the shadows was there. The tips of their shoes only showing, they were trying to hide from me, as if I had not seen them or heard their steps.

"Come out of the shadows!" I shouted to what seemed like a statue. He stepped forward, his arms raised as if he knew I wasn't afraid to shoot. He was a dwarf, short and heavy built. His eyes seemed to pierce mine like daggers. "Who are you?" I questioned. He smirked, his eyes gleaming in the light of the moon. His long dark hair covered his shoulders, he must be young, his beard was not down to the middle of his chest. He still had not answered my demands. I drew my bow further, an obvious threat. From the tree I saw him tense up and his smirk faded.

"M-my name is Kili!" He replied, fear shook his voice. "I won't hurt you! You can put your bow away!"

"How do I know that for certain?" My arm slowly relaxing, I was scared. You should never trust a strange man in the woods, let alone a dwarf. "How do I know that you won't turn around and kill me?"

"Because I don't normally go around killing girls in the forest!" He smirked as he talked.

"Do not patronize me, dwarf, look who has the arrow pointed at you." I said, pulling back again.

"Alright, alright. I apologize. But what are you doing out here by yourself? It's dangerous to be alone around here at night." Worry clouded his voice. I started to relax again. "Here come down and we can talk, I will stand here with my hands up the whole time." He raised his hands higher. I was hesitant but my tip toes were tired of balancing. Reluctantly, my feet made their way down to the solid ground. With the arrow still drawn I looked at the dwarf.

* * *

**Kili:**

"What are you doing here? What is your business in these parts?" The hooded figure, who stood mere inches shorter than me, demanded to know. Her hood covered most of her features except for the soft chin that peeped out from the darkness.

"I'm traveling to see my kin." I replied calmly, trying not to show my bluff. She kept looking over her shoulder in a paranoid manner. "What is your business here?" Her eyes snapped in my direction as I asked. Deep, chocolate brown eyes, with flecks of gold in them, pierced into my very core. They stared at me for a few seconds before returning to look behind her.

"Someone is after me." She finally replied. "How did you see me?"

"Your leg was swinging below the branch. Although the rest of you was hidden very well. Also I believe it had been the humming that led me to you at first." I smirked at her, the chocolate, gold flaky eyes pierced my core as she scoffed at my response. "Who is after you?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know who is chasing you?"

"If I did I would've told you."

"Alright then, what do they want with you?"

"I don't know that either." She glanced over her shoulder once more, before feeling comfortable enough to remove her hood. Her deep eyes matched her deep oak brown hair, which hung braided down her back. The dark features of her face, matched with her olive toned skin that gleamed in the pale moonlight. I paused a moment before responding.

"So let me get this straight." I crossed my arms over my chest. "You were hiding from someone. But you don't know who that someone is, or what they want with you?" My brows furrowed as she nodded in confirmation. "Well.." I started but she interrupted me, throwing her hand up to silence me. She notched her arrow again, and slid right past me almost silently. The wind rustled the leaves and I reached slowly for my bow, unsure whether I should ready an arrow. She tensed up, spun around completely, and released an arrow into the bush behind me, all in the blink of an eye. Whatever had been residing there, died with a final screech.

"What was that?" I said with furrowed brows, still holding my bow.

"A wolf." She murmured, notching another arrow. I followed her example as the brush behind her rustled. Before I could even react to it, a wolf came lunging out at the olive toned girl. The wolf wrapped its jaws around her lower calf and sunk its teeth in until blood came pouring out. It unhooked its jaw, and she collapsed. I discharged an arrow that flew straight into the wolf's forehead, killing it instantly.


	2. Uncertain Traveler

**Nylelyth:**

_I had been laying in bed. My feather pillow nestled up underneath my head, I pulled the quilts up over my shoulder. There was a noise outside my room. Crashing and banging, as if everything in our house was suddenly falling over. I froze. The shuffles and footsteps were louder, faster, they were getting closer. Whoever was in my house was getting closer. I had to find my mother. I abandoned the cover of my quilts and tip toed to the door. I creaked it open. A large man knelt in the hallway. I heard a slash and a gurgle. Red began to pool on the floor. It was blood. It was my mother's blood. She lay there choking. She saw me in the doorway, she mouthed the word "Run" to me. I could only stand there. My heart stopped. The room was spinning. There was someone outside the door. There was more than one, there were three. Three men came barging into the room. I tried to climb out the window but one of the men caught me._

_"You're a pretty one, aren't ya" He whispered in my ear from behind. I flailed and thrashed to try to break free, but he was too strong. He threw me on the bed. I felt nauseous. The room was still spinning. Time seemed to almost freeze. The seconds felt like hours. I screamed at the top of my lungs, hoping someone would hear me, but the man slapped me with the back of his hand. "Shut up! No one can hear you! You're all alone out here. No one is going to save you."_

I woke the next morning with a fright, on an unfamiliar bed roll and with unfamiliar figures around me. I opened my eyes to see a group of dwarves staring at me. Snapping my eyes shut, I prayed to the Valar that this was some strange dream about dwarves, but I was severely disappointed when I opened my eyes to see them in the same spot.

"Alright, alright." The only familiar voice rang out from behind the group who was blankly staring at me. "Give her some room to breathe! Mahal's sake!" The dwarf that was attached to the voice pushed himself through. All the other dwarves took a step back, but still lingered.

"How are you feeling?" The familiar dwarf asked, giving me some water.

"Well my head hurts." I replied taking a sip of water. "My body hurts. I don't know where I am, and I don't know who any of you are. So not too well, I would have to say." I took another sip and handed that water skin back to him.

"I can't help you with the first two, but the last two I can." He replied as he smirked. "I'm Kili. That's Fili, Bofur, Bifur, Bombur, Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, Ori, Nori, Dori. Thorin is off some where, and that's Bilbo." He named the dwarves off so fast that I could barely keep track of who was who. One of the dwarves stepped forward, his long gray beard touched the middle of his chest. Oin, I think his name was, was the healer of the group and had taken it upon himself to heal my wound.

"The wolf bite punctured your muscles pretty deep, but not deep enough to break your tendon. With rest and this salve, you should be just fine." He smiled at me as he wrapped a bandage around my calf. His features were gentle, and he seemed kind. Most of the dwarves had soft features surprisingly. Except for the tall one, who carried practically an armory on his back. Most of the dwarves were bearded, with the exception of the youngest ones. Bilbo, the smallest one, with no trace of any facial hair, seemed to walk around the camp barefoot. Which I thought was inexplicably strange, but no one else seemed to notice or mind. Nevertheless I sat on the unfamiliar bed roll and fiddled with my bandage. My thoughts wandered from what the dwarves were doing here to where my pack and now had gone. Before I could even finish my thoughts, Kili came over to me with a soft smile on his lips.

"I found your things! I put them over by my pack." He seemed genuinely proud of himself to be of service to me. "Stay here, Bombur is cooking some breakfast, I'll bring some to you." I tried to object but he wandered off before I could say anything. I fiddled with my bandage and a small figure tore my attention from it. Bilbo, the barefoot one, came over with two plates of food.

"I thought I would bring you this, since it seems you would have trouble walking on your own." Once again, before I could deny it, he shoved it in my hands.

"Thank you." I nodded to him, and he sat down next to me. Every once in a while, I would look up to see a different dwarf staring at me. Sometimes it was Kili and other times it would be the smallest one, with the sketchbook and a small figure like Bilbo. I awkwardly ate my meal as Bilbo sat happily next to me.

"It's nice to finally have another non-dwarf in the company, well besides Gandalf." He leaned over to me, making sure no one could hear us.

"You're not a dwarf?" I asked quietly but dumbfoundedly.

"Ha! No, I'm a hobbit. Thank you very much." He said very matter-of-factly. "Bilbo Baggins of the Shire. It's nice to meet you..." He paused as he waited for my name.

"Nylelyth." I replied between bites of sausage, and held out my hand for a handshake.

* * *

**Kili:**

The girl stayed on the bedroll, talking and giggling with Bilbo. I still had not learned her name, but Bilbo had become quite friendly with her, so I would ask him later. Thorin had finally joined us at breakfast, and sat on a log beside Fili and I. Eating my breakfast, I stared into the coals of the fire, still wondering who could be after her. She was quite pretty, maybe a marriage proposal gone wrong? Maybe even a wedding? Maybe she had run away from a forced marriage? My mind had wandered to almost all of the possibilities. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her rise to her feet.

"Well." She started to announce to everyone. "Thank you for the breakfast and the bandaging up, but." She winced as she walked over to her things. "I believe it's time for me to take my leave."

"Woah woah woah." Oin rose to join her. "You're not going anywhere with that leg, lass. You are in no condition to go anywhere alone."

"He's right." Bilbo chimed in. "You can hardly even walk!" He stood up with them, I did the same.

"Trust me," she swung her bag over her shoulder." I've been through worse."

"Like what?" I replied, crossing my arms, almost like a challenge to her. She looked at me with doe like, wide eyes. I was fully aware of Thorin's death glare on me as I spoke.

"I-I" she stammered, confusion and pain written on her face. "I can't remember."

"Exactly, which is why it would be safer for you to travel with us." I argued, her chocolate brown eyes staring me down with a glare that could've turned me to stone. She scoffed at my protests. Thorin rose and strode to the edge of the forest. While Bilbo and Oin talked her into staying, Thorin called me over.

"Kili." His eyes still cold and glaring. "A word?" I nodded and jogged over to him.

"What is it Uncle?"

"She's not coming with us." His icy blue eyes staring me down.

"Uncle, she can barely walk. You can't just expect to me leave her out here to die?" I said quietly as Thorin pinched the bridge of his nose in obvious annoyance.

"Fili!" He called, still pinching his nose. Fili came jogging over.

"What is it uncle?" Fili looked at both of us.

"Since you are an heir, and you will some day be making kingly decisions, I would like you to assist me in this decision of leadership." Thorin explained as Fili look confused. "Do you believe that this random girl that Kili found gallivanting around the forest should accompany us?" Fili glanced between the both of us, back and forth before replying.

"Well..." Fili started.

"Fili, she could greatly endanger the company." Thorin said, staring directly at Fili. "If she were to find out our true purpose, and if that information spread, she could lead us to our own ruin."

"Uncle, she's injured. She can't even remember what she was doing or who was chasing her. It seems to me that she could care less about what we were doing." I glanced between them as I talked. Fili stared at me and then at Thorin.

"She will travel with us only until she is better or until we find a town close enough for her to stay in." He held his head high as he made his decision. "No one will tell her anything about the quest. I mean ANYTHING." He stared at me as he said this. "Are we in agreement?"

"Fine." Thorin growled.

"Agreed." I nodded. "Can I at least tell her what we've decided?"

"Sure, but just know this. If she finds out anything, I will not hesitate to end her, Kili." He ordered with dark eyes. I nodded in understanding and he marched off back to camp.


	3. Reliving Memories

**Nylelyth:**

The company had all their things packed and ready to head off. My small pack, with what provisions I had left, was swung over my shoulder. They mounted their ponies as I prepared myself to limp alongside them, although I didn't know how far that would get me. A hand was held out in my direction.

"You shouldn't be walking." Kili said with a smile. "It'll take longer for you to heal if you walk." Reluctantly, I took his hand and swung myself up on his pony, holding on to him from behind. Once the pony started to trot along, I strapped my bag on to the saddle, making myself more comfortable for the long journey ahead.

We had only been traveling for an hour or so, and no one had said a word to me. It wasn't until Fili came over next to Kili and I, did someone acknowledge me.

"So, Nylelyth." Fili slowed down to get even with me. "Where are you from?" It seemed as though the whole company was listening, so I spoke loud enough for them to hear me.

"My mother and I used to live in the forests of Bree."

"Used to?" Kili chimed in from in front of me, turning his head in my direction.

"Yes, used to." I grabbed ahold of Kili's jacket a little tighter as visions of fire and screams and death made themselves known in my mind.

"Just you and your mother?" Bilbo asked from behind us.

"Yes, Master Baggins, just my mother and I." I replied. "I have never met my father, my mother always told me that he was among the stars, always looking out for me." Everyone was silent for a few moments before Fili piped up again.

"Your bow." He asked, concentrating hard on the markings that covered the front of it. "Is that elvish? You are no elf, are you?" The whole company had perked up at this question.

"Yes that is elvish." I replied sheepishly. "But no, I'm not an elf." A strange sigh of relief came over the company as I answered.

"If you aren't an elf, why do you have an elvish bow?" Ori, one of the smaller dwarves chimed in, Dori had given him a glare for asking.

"I wondered the same thing myself, Ori." I smiled at him. He shyly looked away.

"What do you remember?" Kili turned his head to me again.

"I only remember as much as I just told you. The rest of it is as mysterious to me as it is to you."

* * *

**Kili:**

"The real question is, how well can you shoot it?" Bofur asked the olive skinned girl between puffs of his pipe. "We've been hunting for someone to beat Kili in an archery contest, since not one of us is even close to beating him."

"Hey!" Fili argued. "I was close!"

"If you count your arrow soaring high into the sky and almost hitting mother as being close to beating me!" I chuckled, Fili gave me a swift punch in the arm.

"You might be our last hope, lass. We need someone to put him in his place!" Bofur hollered out with a hearty laugh.

"Well, I guess we will just have to see." I replied with my chin held high as Fili rolled his eyes.

The sun started to dip into the horizon as Thorin told us to make camp. I helped Nylelyth off the pony and to a fallen log in the middle of camp. She awkwardly fidgeted with her fingers as everyone around her busied themselves, all exhausted from a long day of traveling.

"Kili you're on first watch. Fili, you're after him." Thorin ordered from across the camp. Once Gloin had the fire going and Bombur passed out the stew, the mood of everyone had improved. Bofur was singing a song around the fire and every so often the rest of the company would chime in. But the only thing I noticed was Nylelyth, shivering over in the corner of the camp. Bofur continued his song as I got up to join her.

"You should really come sit by the fire. It's much to cold over here." She didn't say anything, but glared at me out of the corner of her eye. Without another word, I held out my hand to help her up. She glanced at me and glanced at my hand.

"I'm perfectly fine over here." She chattered.

"Suit yourself." I put my jacket on her shoulders and rejoined Fili. After a few moments she followed me to the fire and sat right between Fili and I, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Thorin glaring. I ignored it and listened to Bofur finish his song. When he was done, we applauded, then a looming silence fell over us, the crackling fire the only thing to be heard.

"What about you, lass?" Bofur interrupted the silence. "Normally I'm the story teller and song singer, but do you have any stories or songs that you can remember?" She looked up from the fire, looking petrified to even talk. She grabbed her pant leg and twisted it in her hand out of nervousness.

"Well, I, uh." She closed her eyes for a moment. "Yes, I guess there is one that I can remember." She looked over at me, her eyes wide out of embarrassment and fear. I laid a reassuring hand on the small of her back, immediately she tensed up.

"Go on lass, don't be shy." Dori added kindly. She pointed up towards the sky, and everyone's eyes followed.

"You see that star, just to the right of the moon?" A couple of us nodded. "Well that is no star, that's the lantern of a woman finding her lover." She paused for a moment, as if to gather her courage to go on. Her gaze laid on the coals the whole time she talked. "Long before any of us, on the outskirts of a town by the sea, where the shore met the forest, lived a woman. She lived in her small cottage, from a very young age, for many years before her parents had passed on. Those who did see her, recognized her as the most beautiful woman they had ever seen. It was rumored that her beauty had started wars, and ended kingdoms. She was left alone for some years, tending to her garden and the small animals that took pleasure in her company. Little to everyone's knowledge, and in the midst of her being alone, she had fallen in love with the moon, and the moon had fallen in love with her. But it was a great distance between them, and only at night could she gaze upon it while it shined it's light on her. Their love reached over the miles and miles they were apart. Word had gotten out in the nearest town, that there was a beautiful maiden on the edge of the forest, awaiting a suitor. One day, every unmarried man had come out, to seek a chance for her hand. And for each marriage proposal she refused, she shot an arrow towards the sky in hopes of being with her lover. Eventually, when she had refused all the proposals the town had to offer, she shot her final arrow to complete her ladder to the stars. That night, she grabbed her brightest lantern and started her long journey to her lover." The silence rang over us, and I couldn't help but smile. Her chocolate flecked eyes glowed in the firelight.

"Did she ever find it? The moon?" Bilbo asked with a soft voice.

"She didn't. That's why that star is so bright. She's still up there, looking for her lost love." She glanced up from the fire to find all of us staring intently at her. Her cheeks flushed to a light pink.

"That is quite a story, Nylelyth." Bofur replied. Even Thorin and Dwalin looked intrigued, which was highly unlikely for them. After a few more moments, the company dispersed to their bedrolls. I stayed by the fire, while Fili wandered over to his own bedroll. Nylelyth stayed next to me.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" I asked her, nudging her with my elbow.

"I'm not very tired." She lied, there were bags under her eyes and she looked like she hadn't had a good nights rest in days. I ignored her lie and stared into the fire.

"Who told you that story?" I asked after a long silence.

"My mother did." I paused again, there was a sadness in her voice. Her eyes grew lifeless and dim every time her mother was mentioned. She frowned slightly, scooting a little bit further away from me. That was when I really looked at her. She had removed my jacket, and her body was skinnier than I had thought before. I could wrap my hand around her wrist more than once, her cheeks were sunken into her face. She looked as if she hadn't had a good meal in weeks. The fire crackled as we sat in silence, awkwardly at first.

"Nylelyth." I finally whispered, she looked towards me with her chocolate gold flecked eyes. "You don't have to answer this, but what happened to your mother?" Her eyes grew dim again, and she sat in silence for a few seconds. I didn't think she was going to answer, I thought she was just going to ignore me. But then she started to speak.

"It was a month ago," her voice was slow and steady as she closed her eyes to remember. Her brows furrowed as she went on. "My mother came home from Bree, with more food than we normally got for the week. She had shut and locked the door with every lock we had. And all the shutters too. I asked her what was going on, but she refused to tell me. Saying it wasn't something to worry about, just precautions. She didn't let me leave the house. We rationed our food, by the end of the month we barely had anything. I had finally convinced her to let me go and get more food." She opened her eyes and tears were threatening to spill over. Her earth toned eyes were full of anger and sadness. "Oh, if I had not convinced her. I wouldn't be in this situation, she would still be here. It was that night, the men came, and they killed her. And set my home on fire. I don't know how I got out, or how I survived." A single tear rolled down her cheek, and she breathed in to compose herself before she would lose it.

"Nylelyth..." I whispered, feeling guilty for even asking what happened. I shouldn't have pried into her business. Especially one as private as this. "I'm so sorry..." I put a hand on her shoulder and she flinched in fear. Panic shook her eyes.

"I think I'm going to go to bed." She replied, her eyes lifeless again. "Goodnight Kili, thank you again." She walked over to her bedroll and laid down without another word, with obvious tears streaking her olive toned cheeks.

"Goodnight Nylelyth." I whispered after her.

* * *

**Fili:**

Kili had woken me up for my watch. Groggy and unbelievably tired, I sauntered over to the fire, sitting down on the ground, leaning against a log. I had just pulled out my dagger to sharpen it, when I saw a dark figure, looming around the edge of the camp. A bow in it's hand, I watched as it swung a bag over it's shoulder.

"Oi!" I whispered loudly enough for the figure to hear, Nylelyth had turned around, and limped forward a little bit. "Where do you think you're going?" I folded my arms over my chest.

"Anywhere, Fili, I've over stayed my welcome." She looked down at her feet. I walked over to talk to her closer.

"No, you're not going anywhere. You are in no condition to be goin' anywhere." She tried to turn away, but I caught her arm first. "Nylelyth, I know you've just joined us, but none of us would like to see you come to any harm." She contemplated for a moment and tried to turn again.

"Fili, you don't understand..." She argued.

"You miss your mother, I know you do." I let go of her arm. "Kili and I lost our father when we were just children. I know how hard it is, but please Nylelyth. Just let us help you this little bit." She turned and started to walk away, as if she hadn't heard any of my words. I didn't try to stop her, I knew I couldn't. But before she got out of the camp, she dropped her things where she had picked them up. She turned to face me.

"Only until I'm healed." Was the only thing she said to me, I nodded in understanding. She limped back over to her bedroll, refusing any help I offered her, grabbed Kili's coat, and laid back down next to him. Before long, the steady rise and fall of her breathing became deeper, she had finally fallen asleep.


	4. Born Again Archer

**Kili:**

The next morning, I woke up to the sun streaming directly into my eyes. To my surprise, only a few of the dwarves were awake, despite the sun shining down on all of them. Dwalin and Fili sat by the morning fire, both looking like they had gotten no sleep. Nylelyth, who I had fallen asleep next to,was no where to be found. I glanced back at Fili and Dwalin, who both pointed in the direction of the river simultaneously.

Maybe it was the singing that had lured me in, or maybe it was the way the soft waves of the river washed upon her bare skin.

"You're a sweet little babe,

You're a sweet little babe.

Honey in the rock and the sugar don't stop

Gonna bring a bottle to the baby."

Her voice was slow and smooth, like butter spreading over fresh baked bread. The bottom of her hips were hugged by the water, the rest of her upper body breathing in the fresh forest air. Bruises littered her back, some yellowing and others vibrant purples and blues. She looked like someone had held nothing back as they beat her senseless. She stroked her hair as she kept singing.

"Don't you weep pretty babe,

Don't you weep pretty babe.

She's long gone with her red shoes on

Gonna need another loving babe"

Her voice had lulled me into a hypnotic state, much like a siren lures her bargeman to his death. When I got closer, I could see that her ribs were almost visible. Her body was famished and starving, as if one more step would cause her to collapse. The singing had subsided into humming.

"I-uh, excuse me." I stuttered, still slightly hypnotized by her voice. Immediately, she dunked herself under the water, hiding herself from me. The only part of her showing was from her nose up. Her whiskey brown eyes stared deep into my core, almost reaching the very center of myself. "I just wanted to tell you that-uh, breakfast will be ready soon. And we'll also be leaving soon." She nodded, her wide eyes indicating embarrassment and fear. I made my way back to camp, still in shock at how bruised her body was.

She ate her breakfast next to Bilbo again, listening intently to his stories about his home. Life was slowly beginning to return back to her eyes, making them almost glow. I gave my empty plate to Ori, who was on dishes duty for the day, and went to pack up mine and Nylelyth's things. As I began to strap my bag to the saddle, a soft feminine hand stopped me.

"Let me." Her gentle voice had frozen me solid as she pushed me aside. "I feel as if I have done nothing to help when I've been with you."

"You're injured, you don't have to."

"If I am going to keep with you, I must help at least a little bit." She tightened the final strap.

Throughout the day, the improvement of her mood had become palpable. She had taken to talking to whoever happened to be next to her, which most of the time was Fili, but occasionally Bilbo would slip in. Her arm had relaxed around my middle, only holding on to a small part of my coat. At midday, we had stopped for a moment to stretch our legs and fill our water skins in the nearby creek.

"Can I take the reins?" Her shy question had startled me.

"Well, I don't see why not. Have you ever ridden before?" She scoffed at me and mumbled something under her breath. Without a second glance, she leaped on the horse. Fili gave me a sideways look and I shrugged my shoulders, hopping on behind Nylelyth. She paused for a few moments.

"Kili..." She finally whispered. "I forgot how to make her go..." I chuckled and jutted my heels into Daisy's haunches. As Daisy started to move steadier, Nylelyth's body moved more in sync with mine. My thighs outlined hers, her body relaxed against mine.

"Here," I reached around to correct her hands. "It's more comfortable if you do it like this." I looped the reins through one of her hands, my hand grazed the deep purple bruise on her wrist. Her body tensed as my arms enclosed around her. Clenching her eyes shut, her breathing became forced. I backed off a little bit, leaving some room between her back and my chest.

"Thank you." She turned to me. I examined the back of her neck, a yellowing bruise in the shape of a hand around the nape of her neck. What had they done to her?

* * *

**Nylelyth:**

Kili had let me take the reins on the horse, and soon enough my confidence on horseback was remembered. I had taken to chatting among the company, learning new things about each one. Bombur, the fattest one, had been one of the best chefs in the Blue Mountains. Bofur, Nori, and Dori were all toymakers. Oin was the best healer they had. Gloin and Bifur were miners. Ori was a scribe, which explained why his nose was always in a sketchbook. Dwalin was the captain of the guard. Balin was the king's adviser . No one would tell me about Thorin, Fili, or Kili. I was told they were part of an important family, but what that family did was unknown to me. I didn't pry any more as we traveled on, there was an obvious secret they were trying to keep that I didn't know if I wanted to know.

"We'll camp here tonight." Thorin ordered as he swung off his pony, I didn't complain, for I was tired and hungry and ready for bed. With the sun on the other side of the sky, we started to unpack. Kili had been strangely silent all day, mostly taking to staring at my bare skin, the parts of me that were so mysteriously black and blue. When we were settled in, Kili took his quiver and bow into a clearing.

"Hey Fili." I nudged the blonde with the walking stick I had made myself so I could move on my own. "I think it's time for your redemption." A big cheeky grin splattered across his face.

"Oi! Kili!" He shouted, the brunette firing his last arrow and turning to us. "Looks like you have a challenger!" Cheers of excitement rang out from the whole company.

A small ring of dwarves had gathered around Kili and I. A small target had been painted on the tree with the painted Ori had donated. I fidgeted with the string of my bow as Fili explained the rules.

"You each get three shots. Whoever hits closer to the middle of the target wins. No crossing this line." He pointed to the line that was drawn in the dirt. "Good luck." As the bets were flying around us, I fidgeted more with my bow, regretting the decision to challenge Kili. He was probably better than me, and I would have to face utter embarrassment after he had beat me.

"I'm betting on the lass." Oin said, readying his coin purse to either empty it or fill it.

"You have two on your side!" Fili reassured, giving me a small smile. I nervously smiled back.

"Make that three!" Bofur added in, smiling from cheek to cheek.

"Ladies first." Kili said, gesturing towards the line. I stumbled to the line, getting my feet settled. "The pointy side goes first." Kili joked as I fidgeted with my arrow. I gave him the dirtiest glare I could conjure and notched my arrow. Before I released the arrow, a gasp of anticipation from the company rang out. I cursed under my breath as my first arrow landed a foot below the target.

"Not too bad. Still better than Fili." Kili looked almost impressed. The company had turned in somewhat disappointment as Kili shot his arrow directly into the center of the target. He turned and smirked at me, my dirty glare returned. Settling my feet again, I breathed deeper, planting myself steadily. I let my heart rate relax, and within seconds released the arrow. I knew it had hit its mark. The arrow landed directly on Kili's, splitting it into shards as it planted itself in the tree. I lowered my bow and glared at my competition. All of the dwarves were entirely silent, eyes darting back and forth between the arrow and myself. Thorin stood on the outside of the circle, leaning against a tree, a smirk of amusement on his lips. My own lips curled into a smile, but I bit my bottom lip to hide it. Out of no where, a howling laugh erupted from Dwalin. Toppling over himself and bright red in the face from laughing. The rest of the company had followed and were all red and teary eyed. Even Thorin had snickered.

"Now hold on!" Fili shouted between laughs. "Kili still has two shots left!" The laughter died down, and Kili lined himself up, firing an arrow inches above the center mark. For my third and final shot, I breathed and settled my heart rate, as I did before. My arrow soared directly into the center spot, splitting my own arrow in two. Silence fell over everyone, their smiles faded in amazement. I stepped aside so Kili could fire his final arrow. He slowed his breath and released the arrow. It landed only a few inches below the two shattered arrows.

"It looks like we have a new champion archer!" Fili announced. Everyone started to cheer, and those who had lost their coin filled the others coin purse. I held out my hand to Kili for a handshake. The rest of the dwarves had left us alone by now, cheering and bragging all the way back to camp. Kili accepted my handshake with a twinge of disappointment in his eyes.

"At least Fili will never be better than you." I whispered as our handshake released. With a chuckle and a gentle pat on the back, he helped me back to camp.

We had been sitting around the fire, our bellies full of food and Bofur telling a story. Out of the bushes an unfamiliar figure emerged from the forest.

"Gandalf," Thorin welcomed him to the camp. "We were wondering when you would return." The figure named Gandalf stood a couple heads taller than everyone around him, even myself. His pointy hat and staff I had recognized, but I couldn't remember where.

"Ah, yes." He replied with a smile. "Business with the head of my order is never short. I see everything seems to be in order, and you may have gained another member of the company?" His eyes wandered to me, sitting next to Kili. With his long steps, it took him no time to get over to me, his figure towering over me even when I stood up. "Nylelyth, what brings you to the company of Thorin Oakenshield?" His voice was calm, and nonchalant. My eyes grew wide with fear and confusion. Who was this Gandalf character, and more importantly, how did he know my name?


	5. The Truth About Mother

**Nylelyth: **

"You're _what_?" My voice had come out harsher than I had intended. Gandalf had pulled me aside from the company, in an attempt to explain himself properly.

"We used to be great friends, Nylelyth. Your mother and I had known each other for a many number of years." My eyes wandered about him, maybe some part of him would have been familiar, but nothing had brought back any crashing memories. "I had heard of what happened to your mother, Sauroman refuses to believe why they were after you and her. We need to keep you safe, Nylelyth, there is no way you are going to be traveling alone any time soon." He sighed and his eyes peered around the camp.

"Why are they after me?"

"You truly remember nothing before that night?"

"I remember them killing my mother, a-and hurting me." I stuttered out, speaking in a hushed tone. "I do not remember anything else before that."

"I cannot make you remember, although there are those who can. It is a dangerous game, and I am not willing to risk your safety with such recklessness. All I can tell you is to keep yourself safe. You are wanted by a higher power that will stop at nothing to have you." He laid a gentle hand on my shoulder. Without another word, or explanation for that matter, he was off back to the camp. All of the sudden, we all heard screams and shrieks from the forest. My hand swiftly grasped the handle of my knife. Bilbo came sprinting over from his pony.

"What was that?" Terrified, he practically jumped over the fire.

"Orcs." Kili replied looking towards his brother, giving him a wink.

"Orcs?" Bilbo squeaked.

"Throat cutters. There'll be dozens of them out there" Fili added.

"They attack in the middle of the night. Quick and quiet, no screams. Just lots of blood." The brunette looked back at his brother giggling.

"You think that is funny?" Thorin stormed. "You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?"

"We didn't mean anything by it." Kili apologized, looking down at the dagger in his hands in shame.

"No, you didn't. You know nothing of the world." Thorin stormed off.

"Don't mind him laddie" Balin reassured, looking at Kili. "Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs. After the dragon had taken the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria. But our enemy had gotten there first." The memory of my mother had come rushing back to me, almost knocking me off my feet. The names had become all too familiar. The line of Durin had laid before me, the last of the Durin's folk, the king under the mountain. Azog had sworn to wipe out the line, to end Durin's folk. He had murdered King Thror, Thorin's grandfather. Thrain, Thorin's father, had gone missing. Killed in battle or taken prisoner. Thorin had stood alone against the Pale Orc, cutting off his arm in the process.

"Azog the Defiler, learned that day, the line of Durin would not be so easily broken." Balin continued. "Our forces rallied, and drove the orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated. But there was no song, nor feast that night. For our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived. And I thought to myself then, there is one that I could follow. There is one I could call king." Balin smiled at Thorin.

"The Pale Orc, what happened to him?" Bilbo asked, his eyes full of curiosity.

"That filth died of his wounds long ago." Thorin snapped back. The company was silent for a few moments, before my whisper could be heard from the outskirts of the camp.

_"The king beneath the mountain,_

_The king of carven stone,_

_The lord of silver fountains_

_Shall come into his own." _

Dumbstruck, everyone stared at me. My confidence had returned. I stood up straight, my eyes peering deep into Thorin as he stared at me, stunned. As I continued, I started to move towards Thorin. My eyes unmoving and hard, staring into the depths of him. Everyone around us had been silent the whole time, even Gandalf, who looked positively delighted that I had known the prophecy.

"_His crown shall be upholden_

_His harp shall be restrung_

_The halls shall echo golden_

_The songs of yore resung."_

"Who told you that?" Thorin growled as I got closer to him.

"You are the king beneath the mountain. The king of carven stone." My voice matched my hard eyes. Thorin erupted in anger.

"Who told you that?!" He grabbed my neck as he pressed his blade against me, squeezing almost as hard as he could around my neck. "I demand to know!"

"Uncle! Let her go!" Someone had ripped his death grip off me, I toppled over, gasping and wheezing for air. Gandalf had made is way in between Thorin and I.

"Thorin Oakenshield, you would do best not to harm her!" Gandalf's voice had grown octaves deeper, the fire dying to only coals. Thorin pulled back in fear. Only when Gandalf relaxed himself, the fire had returned to flame. "That is the daughter of Malykr. If you would like to murder her _only _child, by all means, go ahead." Thorin's face had turned from anger to confusion. Kili had stood next to me, holding me up so I didn't fall over.

"It cannot be..." Balin chimed in from behind Thorin. "She never had a child."

"Long before you were alive, she bore a child." Gandalf replied. Still awestruck, everyone stared at me. I had finally caught my breath and was standing by now, Kili holding on to me so I didn't fall. "This is her only heir." The company had all rose to stare at me, and I had been staring at between Gandalf and Thorin the whole time.

"How do you know my mother?" My voice full of insecurity. Thorin took two steps closer to me, sheathing his dagger and then holding his hands behind his back.

"Your mother fought in the battle of Moria, alongside my family." Thorin replied, his voice calm and no longer filled with anger. "She was there when Smaug attacked. I had known your mother for many years, before she had disappeared." A warm presence behind me offered me some comfort for this news. I stayed silent, my heart clattering in my chest. My eyes darted to Gandalf, his face now strangely familiar after this.

"Gandalf... Is it true?" A simple nod was all I had gotten in return. "I-I need to sit down." I grabbed whoever was behind me as I struggled to find the nearest spot to sit down, my heart still clattering in my chest.

* * *

**Kili: **

I helped Nylelyth back near the fire, her eyes instilled with confusion. The rest of the company had kept their distance, as she was still in shock.

"Nylelyth?" I placed a hand on her back. She flinched as she normally did, and turned to me. Her eyes wild with uncertainty, her disheveled hair had broke free from her normal braid.

"What would you do?" Her eyes hardened into the dirt. "If you had found out your mother was a great warrior? Or had been, I guess..." She looked up at me, her eyes which I had deemed so irrevocably hypnotizing had their same intoxicating feeling to them.

"I would be frustrated." I replied, removing my hand from her back. "Frustrated that I had not remembered myself." Her mesmerizing gaze left me, and shifted to Thorin, who was intensely talking to Gandalf and Fili.

"I don't know what to feel." She replied, barely loud enough for me to hear. Without knowing how to respond, I placed my hand on her shoulder. Her eyes jumped to me, the firelight igniting gold flecks. She didn't flinch as I touched her, my hand curling around the shoulder opposite from me. We sat in silence, as the fire crackled, and other members of the company had drifted to sleep. Soon, we were the only two left.

"Kili?" A small voice beside me whispered. "Can I tell you something?"

"Of course." I leaned back more on the log I was sitting in front of.

"I'm so frustrated with myself." Her voice had the same small ring to it, and her eyes matched.

"Why is that?"

"I want to remember. But I can't. I try and try until my brain hurts to remember even just a sliver of my past, but I can't remember a single thing. It only comes back in bits and pieces, when something sets off a memory. I want it to be different. I wish this never would have happened to me." I glanced at her, her eyes deep into the flames.

"Maybe, it could have been different." I replied, staring at her profile as she gazed into the fire. "Maybe you could have gone a different direction. You could've not been visible to me that night. You could have done all these things different, Ny, but it didn't happen like that. You're here, and now all you can do is decide what to do with what is given to you."

"Do you have to call me that?" She glanced over at me with a smile.

"Well, I quite like it. It takes out the eternity it takes to say Nylelyth, Ny." I smirked at her, a soft laugh came from her. I felt a soft hand on my shoulder, and for a few moments there was nothing but the fire crackling.

"Thank you, Kili." The soft hand left my shoulder, and she hobbled to her bedroll for the night.

"Here, Mr. Gandalf, is there nothing you can do about this deluge?" Dori had shouted from the back of the company. It had been raining all morning, soaking all of us to the bone.

"It is raining, Master Dwarf, and it will continue to rain until the rain is done. If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard!" Gandalf returned with a cheeky smile.

"Are there any?" Bilbo asked, over the sound of clattering rain. "Other wizards?"

"There are five of us. The greatest of our order is Sauroman, the white. And there are the two blue wizards." He paused for a moment. "You know I've quite forgotten their names."

"Alatar, and Pallando." Ny called out from behind me, her arm wrapped tightly around my middle. I glanced back at her, her eyes full of confusion. She was shaking her head as if she herself was confused as to how she knew that. Gandalf looked back with a half smile on his lips

"Yes, yes. I remember now. And then there is Radagast, the brown."

"Is he a great wizard, or is he more like you?" Bilbo replied. Gandalf glanced at him with raised brows.

"I think he's a very great wizard, in his own way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others. He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forest lands to the East, and a good thing too, for always Evil will look to find a foothold in this world." His eyes darted to Ny, who was still clinging tightly to me.

* * *

**Nylelyth:**

We had stopped at an old farm house that was burnt to just the foundation for the night. I helped Kili unload Daisy's saddle as Gandalf investigated the burnt foundation.

"A farmer and his family used to live here." Gandalf explained to the company. "I think it would be wiser to move on. We could make for the Hidden Valley."

"I have told you already, I will not go near that place." Thorin argued.

"Why not? The elves could help us. We could get food, rest, advice."

"I do not need their advice." Thorin glared at up at him.

"We have a map that we cannot read. Lord Elrond could help us." Gandalf replied.

"Help?" Thorin replied behind gritted teeth. "A dragon attacks Erebor, what help came from the Elves? Orcs plunder Moria, desecrate our sacred halls, the Elves looked on and did nothing. You ask me to seek out the very people who betrayed my grandfather and betrayed my father."

"You are neither of them." Gandalf wisely replied. "I did not give you that map and key for you to hold on to the past."

"I did not know they were yours to keep." Thorin snapped at Gandalf. He stormed away as Thorin gave out orders.

"Come on, Bombur, we're hungry." Thorin called. The rest of the night had been easy going, sitting next to the fire. Thorin had ordered Fili and Kili to take care of the ponies, and with a roll of the eyes the obeyed their uncle. Bilbo had been wandering around the camp, his brows constantly furrowed, and his hands constantly fidgeting.

"He's been a long time." Bilbo worried aloud.

"Who?" Bofur replied

"Gandalf!" Bilbo explained.

"He's a wizard! He does as he chooses. Here, do us a favor, take these to the lads." Bofur held out two bowls of stew.

"I'll help!" I chimed in, Bilbo had given me a look of unsurety. "I can do it, my leg is healing quite nicely, I could do with some walking." Shrugging his shoulders, he handed me a bowl. I grabbed my walking stick and hobbled in the direction of the ponies. As we got to the outskirts of the forest, Fili and Kili were both standing side by side, staring off into the blackness of the forest.

"What's the matter?" Bilbo asked, handing Kili the bowl.

"We're supposed to be looking after the ponies, only we've encountered a slight problem." Fili replied, not looking anywhere but the forest as I handed him his bowl.

"We had sixteen." Kili said.

"Now there's fourteen." Fili added in, both of them turning to Bilbo and I. We searched around the entire area, scouring behind every tree and branch. I resided to one area, as my leg had rendered me almost useless to the search party.

"Weren't you supposed to be _watching_ the ponies?" I crossed my arms as I scolded the two brothers.

"Well, we were, but then Fili tried telling me that he could throw daggers better than I could." Kili argues, simultaneously searching for the ponies around bushes.

"Everyone knows it's true brother! Even Ny does!" Fili countered.

"Great, now you're calling me that." I pouted as Fili gave me a cheeky smile.

"Daisy and Bungo are missing." Kili concluded to all of us as we gathered around the other ponies.

"Well, that's not good. Not good at all." Bilbo let out a little laugh. "Shouldn't we tell Thorin?"

"Uhhh. No! We shouldn't worry him." Fili blurted out. "As our official burglar, we thought you might like to take a look into it." Bilbo looked around, still holding the bowl of stew which was undoubtedly cold by now.

"Well..uh." Bilbo began, I couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Kili glanced at me with a smile. Bilbo noticed some uprooted trees and wandered over to investigate. "It looks like something big uprooted these trees."

"That was our thinking." Kili replied.

"Something big, and possibly quite dangerous." Bilbo's eyes danced around us in fear.

"Hey, there is a light! Over here." The blonde dwarf called out. "Stay down!" The three of them had sprinted off, running as fast as they could, leaving me barely able to catch up. They knelt behind a log, hiding from the source of the light. Out of no where, I saw a ginormous troll carrying both of the ponies under it's arms. Each step the troll made vibrated the ground around us.

"They've got Myrtle and Minty! I think they're going to eat them, we have to do something!" Bilbo whispered to us.

"Yes, you should. Mountain trolls are slow and stupid, and you're so small!" Fili explained, but Bilbo was not having it, interrupting him with a wagging finger and repeated no's.

"It's perfectly safe! We'll be right behind you!" Kili started to push Bilbo into the light.

"If you run into trouble, hoot twice like a barn owl, once like a brown owl!" Fili pushed him into the light. "I'm going back for the others, stay here and make sure he's okay." We both nodded and Fili ran off. Peering around the tree, Bilbo had been on all fours, crawling towards the ponies who were enclosed by ropes. The three trolls had all been arguing about something, my heart rattled in my chest for Bilbo. It would be no problem for any one of these trolls to step on him and squash him like a bug. He had gotten to the rope gates of the pen, and unable to untie them, crawled over on all fours to the smallest of the trolls.

"Bilbo.._no!_" I whispered to myself, cursing under my breath. Kili had stood next to me, gripping the tree in angst as Bilbo reached for the troll's knife. All of the sudden, the smallest troll erupted in a giant sneeze, reaching for his hanker chief, he grabbed Bilbo along with it. The screaming from the troll had covered up the sound of the footsteps of the whole company who had sprinted up behind Kili and I. Fili handed Kili his sword, and I was left there weaponless. All the dwarves had their weapons drawn, I stared Kili down.

"Give me your bow." I nodded to the bow still strapped to his back.

"You're in no condition to fight!" He whispered back.

"I can help! Please, Kili. Just let me help." Reluctantly he handed me he bow and arrows strapped to his back. From the troll camp, the biggest troll had Bilbo in his hand.

"Hold his toes over the fire!" The smallest one wailed out. "Make him squeal!" Kili nodded to the company, who were all ready to pounce. Kili hurdled himself out of the bushes, slicing the back of the troll's leg. I watched in unease as the trolls towered over him.

"Drop him!" He shouted up to them, swinging his sword in his hand. I strapped the bow to my back, swinging myself up the nearest tree, perching myself above everyone else.

"You what?" The troll replied.

"I said, drop him." The troll threw Bilbo at Kili, making them both topple over. The company rushed out of the bushes, screaming and wielding their weapons. I was at eye level with the trolls, shooting Kili's arrows into their heads. I shot an arrow at the biggest one hoping to bring it down. The arrow landed right on the side of its head, but seemed to not affect it at all, for he kept swinging he arms hoping to grab a dwarf. I kept shooting. None of my arrows seemed to be slowing any of the trolls down at all. When the arrow hit, they would cry out in pain, but keep moving. Eventually, I gave up. As soon as one of the trolls got close enough, I leaped from the tree on to its back. My calf had been throbbing, but the pure adrenaline had blocked out almost all the to get close enough to it's head without being killed, I climbed up it's back until it had reached around and thrown me to the ground.

"Drop your arms!" The trolls held Bilbo up by his limbs, pulling ether way.

"Bilbo!" I screamed, racing to him. A strong arm stopped me. "Bilbo!"

"Or we'll rip his off!" The giant troll yelled. Reluctantly, everyone threw their weapons to the ground.


	6. Trolls, Parasites, Goodness Knows What

**Nylelyth:**

Some of us sat in a pile, while they roasted some of us over a fire. They had put us all in sacks so we could not escape, and now they were talking about how they were going to eat us.

"Don't bother cooking them. Let's just sit on 'em and squash them into jelly!" One of the trolls had suggested. All of the dwarves objected with loud voices.

"They should be sauteed, and grilled with a sprinkle of sage." The other one put in. Kili and I were next to each other on the ground.

"What do we do?" I whispered into Kili's ear, he turned to look at me.

"I don't know." His eyes screamed desperation. We were going to die here. After everything, I was going to die because three trolls ate me with a sprinkle of sage.

"Never mind the seasoning! We ain't got all night, dawn ain't far away. I don't fancy being turned to stone." The troll bellowed. Bilbo's eyes lit up.

"Wait!" He hollered. He shot up from the ground. "You are making a terrible mistake! With the uh- seasoning!"

"What about the seasoning?" The troll leaned over to look at Bilbo closer.

"Well have you smelt them? You're going to need something a lot stronger than sage before you plate this lot up." He told him.

"Traitor!" Kili yelled at him

"Kili," I kicked him. "Just wait." I could tell that Thorin and I were the only ones that really knew what was going on, we sat back quietly.

"The secret to cooking dwarf is..." Bilbo thought for a second. "is to..."

"Tell us the secret." The troll demanded.

"Yes I'm telling you, the secret is to... skin them first!" Bilbo hollered out. The dwarves started yelling and cursing at him.

"What a load of rubbish! I've eaten plenty with their skins on!"

"He's right! Nothing wrong with a bit of raw dwarf!" The troll picked up Bombur and held him over his mouth as if to swallow him whole, right down his gullet.

"No! Not that one!" Bilbo yelled. "He's infected! He's got worms in his...tubes!" The troll dropped Bombur face first into the pile of dwarves. "In fact they're all infested. Infested with parasites. It's a nasty business, I wouldn't risk it. I really wouldn't."

"Parasites!? You have parasites! We don't have parasites!" Voices rand out from all over. I finally kicked Kili and gave him a look, and he realized what was happening. Soon after all the dwarves realized.

"I've got the biggest parasites you've ever seen!" Someone yelled

"I've got parasites bigger than my arm!" Someone else chimed in

"What would you have us do then? Let 'em all go?"

"Well.." Bilbo paused

"I know what he's doing!" One of the trolls roared. "This lil ferret, is taking us for fools!"

"Ferret?" Bilbo replied sounding offended. A loud voice climbed over all of us.

"The dawn will take you all!" Followed with a roaring crack. The trolls were blinded by a light, shifting and cracking, turning into stone! Finally, they were solidified. When we got everyone down and out of the sacks, Kili came over and hugged me.

"I thought we were going to die." He sighed in relief. His brown eyes focused on mine.

"I'm glad we didn't." My snarky reply caused him to chuckle.

"There must be a cave near by." Thorin said. We all went running around to find the cave. It wasn't that hard to find, because of the stench. It was foul and musty, and very pungent. I decided to stay outside with Fili, even being outside of the cave was overwhelming for me. Gandalf came out of the cave with three swords in hand, he gave one to Bilbo and me.

"I noticed that you did not have a sword." He remarked. "Although bows and daggers can be effective, it's always nice to have a sword." I thanked him graciously. The sword was of elfish make, very rare, and with an exceptional blade.

"Gandalf," I said once I realized what it was. "I cannot take this! This is an elvish blade!"

"Exactly my dear." He replied with a big smile. I looked at the sword again. It had carvings of elvish on the blade. The guard came down along the handle with ivy leaves, making it a true piece of art. I strapped it to my belt and we moved on.

"Something's coming!" Thorin yelled. Everyone drew their weapons, I hesitantly reached for my new blade.

"Thieves! Fire! Murder!" A chunky little man called out. He was riding a sled pulled by rabbits.

"Radagast!" Gandalf welcomed him warmly.

"Gandalf, something is terribly wrong." He pulled Gandalf aside and they talked. Kili came up beside me.

"Now we may have to teach you how to use that." He snickered. There was a howling in the distance.

"Wolves?" Bilbo asked, "Are there wolves in these woods?"

"No those aren't wolves." Bofur replied with terror in his eyes. I heard loud pounding behind me, footsteps. Wargs. Like lightening, I sheath my sword and grab my bow. I whipped around and shot in arrow right in the middle of the warg's face.

"Warg-scouts. Which means an orc pack is not far behind." Thorin roared.

"Who did you tell about your quest?!" Gandalf bellowed at Thorin.

"No one! No one I swear. What is going on?" Thorin replied.

"You are being hunted!" Gandalf yelled

"We have to get out of here!" I hollered.

"We can't. We don't have any ponies. They bolted!" Ori said.

"I'll draw them off!" Radagast offered.

"These are Gundabad wargs, they will outrun you." Gandalf agued.

"These are Rhogebel rabbits." Radagast snarked back. "I'd like to see them try." Without another word he hopped up on his sled and the rabbits took off. We rushed to the opening of the forest,

"Stay together" Gandalf told us. When we saw the warg pack chasing after Radagast, we bolted the other direction. My leg was surging with every step I took. I could feel the blood pumping through it. The pack came close, but we hid behind a boulder before they could see us. One of the wargs had stopped, it stood on top of the rock that we were hiding behind, sniffing the found us. I thought, I sheathed my bow and readied and arrow. Thorin looked at Kili and I, I nodded. Stepping out from under the cover of the boulder, I aimed my arrow right at the orc's face. I hit my mark, while Kili aimed for the warg. He shot it and it fell from the rock making a loud howling noise. It landed and Dwalin and Thorin finished the job. But it was too late, the pack had heard us.

The orc pack had paused. One of the orcs had yelled something in black speech, but I didn't know what it meant.

"Everyone move!" Gandalf shouted pointing out towards the grassy plain. As we ran, the pack had surrounded us. We all drew our weapons.

"There's more coming!" Kili shouted.

"Kili! Nylelyth! Shoot them down!" Thorin ordered us. I aimed an arrow at one of the orcs, the warg he was riding was snarling and snapping at me. The orc slid off the warg, dead, but the warg still persisted towards us.

"We're surrounded!" Fili shouted. "Where's Gandalf?" I shot another orc down.

"He's abandoned us!" I heard Dwalin yell from the back. I kept shooting orcs, but more and more seemed to appear. They were growing closer and closer. I heard a voice yelling.

"This way you fools!" It was Gandalf. Everyone started yelling at Kili and I to follow. I ran back, pushing Kili in front of me.

"Kili come on!" Thorin shouted. One of the orcs had released an arrow at Thorin, without even thinking I stepped in front of him. I cried out in pain as the arrow pierced my side. Thorin grabbed me and pushed me down the hole that everyone had been escaping to.

"She's been shot!" Bilbo cried. Just then, we heard a horn. It wasn't an orc horn. Those sounded more vile, but this sound was at a low tune, then went up to a higher pitch. Elves. I had recognized it from some where, but I had no idea why. An orc fell down the hole. Everyone pointed their weapons at it, but it was already dead. Shot by an arrow, Thorin pulled it out.

"Elves." His voice was full of disgust.

"I cannot see where the path way leads, do we follow it?" Dwalin was on the path.

"Follow it of course!" Bofur chimed in. I pulled the arrow out of my side, it was better than having it sticking out of my body. I pressed my hand against the hole that it left, blood seeping through the cracks of my fingers. Leaning against the wall, I hoisted myself up.

"Let me help you." Kili came over and slid my arm around his neck and a hand around my waist. I was too weak to refuse help. The blood kept seeping out of my wound, until my trousers were stained red. My vision was getting blurry, I was fading in and out of consciousness. "Stay with me Nye." Kili whispered to me, practically dragging me along the path. It was like a crack in the ground, that was just wide enough for us to fit through. We reached an opening along the claustrophobic path that we followed.

"The valley of Imarldis. In the common tongue, it's known by a different name." Gandalf informed us.

"Rivendell." Bilbo whispered

"This was your plan all along." Thorin snarled at Gandalf. "To seek refuge with our enemy."

"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield." Gandalf said wisely. "The only ill-will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself." Thorin glared at him.

"You think the elves will give us their blessing? They will try to stop us."

Of course they will. But we have questions that need to be answered." I couldn't hear the rest of what he said, I had blacked out. I felt someone shaking me. When I came to, we were surrounded by elves, on a platform at the entrance of Rivendell.

"Lord Elrond!" Gandalf exclaimed as a tall elf came forward. They had a long conversation in Elvish that non of the dwarves had understood. Lord Elrond turned to me.

"Nylelyth," he bowed. "It's wonderful to see you again after so many years."

"H-how do you know my name?" Before I could get an answer, I collapsed onto the ground. I was having spasms, my wound was turning black. I could feel my blood pumping through my veins. Lord Elrond pulled up my tunic to reveal my wounds.

"She was hit by an arrow with Morgul poisoning. She needs healing, immediately." Someone scooped me up and brought me inside. They laid me on the bed. Someone held my hand as I writhed in pain. The pain was spreading throughout my body. It was like a thousand needles inside my blood, stabbing my skin threatening to break through. My body was convulsing in pain. My vision was going black around the edges, my hearing was fuzzy. Someone was talking to me, holding my hand and stroking me hair, as if to comfort me.

"Stay with me!" The voice said to me. "Is there nothing you can do?! Nylelyth! Look at me! Fight it Nye! Fight it!" My screams became somewhat inhuman, my voice cracked and croaked. Someone pressed something warm against my side, where my wound was. There was chanting, and then a great light. It got brighter and brighter until I eventually passed out.


	7. A Dance With Death

**Nylelyth:**

The sun shone in my eyes. I sat up. I was in a bed, the windows were open, letting in the soft warm breeze. The curtains flowed with the wind. I looked around the room I was in. Bofur sat in the chair across the room from me, fast asleep. Someone had dressed me in a white dress, my other clothes were no where to be found. I was still confused behind the meaning of my dream. It felt more like a memory, rather than a dream. I slid off the bed, wincing as I stood up. My leg had fully healed, but the wound in my side was still sore. The power of Elvish healing was still a wonder to me. I walked out the door onto the patio, soaking in the view of the valley. There was a giant waterfall, the leaves gently rustled in the wind as I breathed in the fresh air. There was something familiar about this place, as if I had been here before, many years ago. I shook off the strange sense of familiarity and walked back to my room. I was parched, my mouth was dry and my throat felt cracked. There was a jug of water sitting on a table, without even bothering to pour it into a glass I drank straight from the jug. The water slid down my throat, replenishing and repairing all the cracks I had made with my inhuman screaming. Water has never tasted so good to me in my life.

"Thirsty, huh?" I heard a voice from behind me. I finished gulping the water and set the jug down. Bofur had woken up.

"How long was I out?"

"Only since yesterday. It's mid-morning right now." He replied. "Ya should get back to bed. Ya need rest."

"Bofur, I'm fine. I promise." I gave him a reassuring smile. I really did feel fine. "Why are you even here?"

"The lads and I took turns keepin' watch" He said. "Just to make sure you'ere okay." I was confused. Why did they even care what happened to me?

"Why would you? I'm not part of the company."

"You took an arrow for Thorin, lass. An arrow with Morgul poisonin' on it." He replied with a serious face. "You may not be a part of it, but we owe ya." I blushed a little. I didn't know think that much about taking an arrow for him. He was a king, anyone would do it. At least I thought anyone would. The door creaked open, Lord Elrond appeared.

"Ah, I see you're awake!" He said cheerfully. He turned to Bofur."Would you mind giving us a moment?" Bofur nodded and left the room. Lord Elrond closed the door.

"How did you know my name?" I was always upfront about questions, especially when random elves knew my name.

"I take it you do not remember." He replied. He looked intently at me.

"What am I supposed to remember?" I was getting angry, why does no one tell me anything.

"You lived here for a time." He said. "I took you in, as your mother fought with the dwarves of Erebor."

"What are you talking about?" Confusion clouded my voice. "I've never met you before?"

"I want to show you something, something that may refresh your memory." He gestured towards the door and reluctantly, I followed him. He led me down a corridor and up a huge flight of stairs. My side still ached from being shot, but I tried my best not to let him know that I was in pain. When we finally got to the stop, my jaw dropped in awe. It was on top of the tallest tower in Rivendell, a table with some chairs sat in the middle. The views around it were breath taking. You could see for miles and miles through the valley. The forest was gleaming from the golden sun that shone above. The waterfall was behind us, falling in a rampage. Hitting the rocks, bouncing off them into a steady stream that ran around the platform. The covering of the platform was an ivory white, with green ivy leaves climbing to the top. I looked around, stunned at the beauty of my surroundings.

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked. Still looking around in shock.

"I wanted you to meet someone, that might help you remember." He said. He pointed over to a corner of the platform. I woman stood there, well an elf actually, her long hair cascading down her back like a river of blonde. The dress she wore was white, covered in sparkling white jewels that looked like starlight. She turned to me.

"Nylelyth." She smiled at me. "I know you do not remember who I am, but I was a great friend of yours, ages ago." I didn't know what to think. All these people telling me that they knew me, and that I was their friend when in reality I was just a girl.

"I think you have the wrong person." I tried backing away. "I don't know either of you." I paused. Lord Elrond put his hand on my back gently.

"Come here," the blonde elf said, holding out her hand, "let me help you remember, child" Lord Elrond softly pushed me towards her. I hesitated as I slipped my hand into hers. She closed her eyes, soon after my eyes closed as well.

In about two seconds, I saw 2,000 years. Thousands of years that I had lived. I saw wars, and people, and places that I had only dreamed of, or at least I thought were only dreams. Lord Elrond and Lady Galadriel became more and more familiar. Every memory I ever had came rushing back to me in a giant wave. I collapsed on the ground, letting this wave take over.

"What's happening?" I whispered. I curled into a ball, unable to comprehend what had just happened. "What am I?"

"You are Maia." Lady Galadriel said. She knelt down next to me, and stroked my hair. "You have the gift of immortality."

"How come I didn't remember?" My voice squeaked. I was still trying to comprehend everything that had just happened.

"When you were attacked," Lord Elrond explained. He knelt next to lady Galadriel. "When those men, killed your mother, and... did what they did to you, your mind repressed almost all of your memories. It happens to those who suffer greatly. Even to those who are immortal. You could only remember some things about your life, other things it completely changed. Like some of the stories your mother told you were actually your memories that your mind altered." My mind was spinning. Immortal? I thought to myself. Repressed memories? Could this all be actually true?

"This can't be true... I can't be immortal?" My eyes were wide. "How did I become this?"

"Your father was a part of the Maia, and your mother was half. That is why she could be killed." Lady Galadriel informed me. "The Maia are incapable of dying, even by force." My mind was spinning, what was happening?

"I-I need to think." I got up and ran down the stairs, back to my room. I shut the door and leaned against it so no one could get in.

* * *

**Kili:**

I had woken up that morning with the intention of going to see Nylelyth. I had stayed with her most of the night, but Balin insisted that I went and rested. When I went to her room, she was no where to be found. I waited in her room for her, she had to return soon right? I stood on the patio, taking in the sights and the sounds of Rivendell. Although I was supposed to hate the elves, I was impressed by the beauty of their surroundings and strangely jealous. I heard the door to the room slam shut and heavy breathing. Lifting the curtains back, I found the scrunched up figure of Maude shaking in front of the door.

"Nylelyth?" My voice was shaky, I had never seen her like this. She was always so strong, and brave. "Nye? Are you okay?" She snapped her head up.

"Kili? W-what are you doing in here?" Her eyes were full of tears. "You shouldn't be in here." She started to get up and grab the door handle. I grabbed her arm, and looked her in the eyes.

"What is wrong?" My voice was slightly harsh, but filled with worry. She slid back down the door. Her chin quivered in preparation of the tears that were going to come. Without another word, I took her in my arms and she leaned her head against my chest. Her hot tears soaked through the fabric of my tunic. I shushed her as she sobbed and rocked her back and forth. We sat there for a long time, and although it seemed endless, her tears had stopped. I scooped her up in my arms, she was so small, it was almost effortless. Placing her gently in the bed, I couldn't help but wonder what had made her so upset. She pulled the blankets up to her chin. Rolling over on her side, she avoided eye contact with me. I stroked the top of her head, before leaving the room. My strides across the room to the door seemed to take hours to make. I turned around as I reached the door, sighing deeply. I wanted nothing more than to just stay there, and hold her until all of her tears ran dry. I wanted to make her smile, I wanted to make her forget why she was even upset in the first place. But she did not want me there, I knew this. As quietly as I could, I shut the door behind me. Pausing for a moment, I sighed again. Nylelyth was something else. When I was with her, I feel like I've known her for years. As if we had met in another life. There were footsteps coming down the hall, a tall elf, with dark hair. As she came closer and closer, I began to straighten up.

"May I help you?" I asked, looking up at her.

"I've come to see Nylelyth." She said. "My father, Lord Elrond, sent me." She was the lady Arwen. Her beauty was widely talked about, and she lived up to the gossip. I cleared my throat.

"Uhm, she's not seeing anyone right now, you'll have to come back... later." She didn't say anything, but just looked at me with intense eyes. I scooted from the door. "Fine, but only for a few minutes." She smirked and walked in the door.

* * *

**Nylelyth:**

Soon, little memories started creeping back into my mind. I remember living in Rivendell. I remember the markets, and the fairs. I remember there was a girl there, an elf. Her name I wasn't quite sure. But we had been friends the whole time I stayed in Rivendell. She had long dark hair, her eyes were a beautiful blue color, and I always remember being jealous, but also astounded by her beauty. It didn't change our friendship, we were the best of friends. The door to my room creaked open slowly.

"Arwen?" Magically, seeing her face made me remember her name.

"Nylelyth." She replied with a huge smile. We ran for a reuniting hug, and she picked me up from off the ground. She was about a foot taller than me.

"Today has been awful." There were still tears in my eyes.

"Well then," she said to me in her cheery voice, wiping the rest of the tears from my face. "We will have to make tonight better! There is to be a party in honor of your return to Rivendell, everyone will be there!"

"E-everyone? I'm not sure I'm ready for that." I was apprehensive. Only just a few moments ago, I had remembered that I was alive for 2,000 years. "I don't think a party is necessary. Nor do I want one."

"Of course it is," she argued. She always won our arguments. "You've been gone for some time Nyle. And after everything that has happened, a little fun is just what you need." I couldn't argue. It did sound nice to just relax. "And of course, your dwarvish friends will be invited."

Later on, she had laid out some dresses that had once belonged to me, years ago. It seemed like a totally different life, as if I was a different person. Lord Elrond had always been so kind to me. He gifted me with beautiful dresses, and jewelry, as if I was Arwen's sister. I had chosen my favorite dress. It was beige, the darker bronze details on the dress of ivory leaves climbed up the sides of the dress and wrapped around. A sheer piece of fabric had been wrapped from my waist to my shoulder, the fabric hung down to the bottom of the dress. Arwen had pulled half of my hair back, a traditional Elvish hairstyle. I looked in the mirror at myself.

"You look beautiful mellonamin." I looked at her, she had on her lavender dress. The sleeves cut down the middle so her bare shoulders were exposed.

"Not as beautiful as you,Vanimle sila tiri, Arwenamin " I spoke Elvish, I forgot that I spoke Elvish.

"You know that you do not have to call me My lady, you are a part of my family. You are the sister that I never had." I blushed a little bit. "Now, let us go to the party and shock everyone there with how beautiful you are." She took my arm as we walked down the hallway to where the party was. I had spent the whole day with Arwen, catching up on things that we had both missed in each others lives. Not much had changed in the 200 years that I had been gone. We walked into the party. There was music and dancing and the best food and wine for miles. My side was still sore from my injury, but I pretended not to feel it. Lord Elrond came over and laid a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"It's nice to have you back Nylelyth." He gave me a smile.

"It's nice to be back, Lord Elrond." I went to sit at the table with Arwen. The dwarves sat at the opposite end of the table, looking into the bowls of salad that sat in front of them. Probably wondering where the meat was. Arwen nudged me.

"That dwarf with the dark hair has done nothing but stare at you since we walked in." It was Kili, and my face turned bright red. She raised her eyebrows and looked at me. "Is there something going on that I should know about?" I didn't tell her about what had happened between Kili and I. Her jaw dropped when I told her.

"I'm not going with the company, so it would be useless to do anything now." I said, she could tell that I was upset about it. She didn't push it any further. All of the sudden, someone held out their hand in front of me. A tall elf, with golden hair that flowed over his shoulders.

"My name is Emeryn, you are Nylelyth, correct?" He asked. I nodded. "Would you care for a dance?" My heart beat a little bit faster, Arwen nudged me towards him. I accepted, and he lead me out to the dance floor.

* * *

**Kili:**

Nylelyth walked into the room. She was glowing. The dress she wore hugged her hips in the best way, I couldn't help but stare at her. Normally, she tied all her her hair back, but tonight she let it flow over her shoulders and down the small of her back. Half of it was tied up into a braid, but the rest had stayed curly. Lord Elrond said something to her, and she went and sat down at the end of the table, with the dark haired elf. My eyes were still glued to her as she floated from the door to the table. The dark haired elf and I made eye contact, and she whispered something to Nylelyth.

"Aye! Kili!" Fili had nudged me, they were all drinking the ale that the elves had brought out especially for us. Fili handed me a cup and I took a sip, not really in the mood for drinking. Nylelyth was leaving the company, she wasn't coming with us. She was to stay here in Rivendell, and I was most likely never going to see her again. Maybe I did need a drink. I chugged the rest of my ale, slamming my cup down. A pretentious golden haired elf had approached Nylelyth and held his hand out to her. Elves. I thought as I rolled my eyes. I saw her nod her head and smile at him. She took his hand and they walked over to the dance floor. He put his hand on her waist, I could feel my blood boiling. Someone had brought me another ale, without thinking, I gulped this one down.

"Woah Kili!" Bofur shouted. "Slow down! We don't want to be draggin' ya outta here!" Everyone started laughing, I pretended like I was in the mood for jokes. But all I could fixate on was Nylelyth, and that dirty elf that had his hands on her. I saw them talking and her laughing, but I didn't stop watching them. If he did anything to her, I would rip his arms off. My grip tightened around my cup. Nylelyth looked over his shoulder at me, she quickly looked away as we made eye contact. This was the last time I was ever going to see her, and I doubt that she would ever remember me.

**Translations:**

**mellonamin- my friend**

**Vanimle sila tiri, Arwenamin- Your beauty shines bright, my lady**


	8. Elvish Is A Requirement

**Nylelyth:**

As Emeryn and I danced, Kili had his eyes glued to me. He looked angry, like he was going to kill someone. I had never seen him like that before. When the dance ended, Emeryn lowered his hands.

"Would you like to get some air with me?" He asked me. I nodded and took his arm. When I glanced behind me at Kili, he was no where to be found. He guided me out to a patio. The stars were completely uncovered, the moon shined brighter than I have ever seen it. I leaned against the railing, gazing up at the sky. Emeryn had reached his arm around my waist, resting his hand on my hip. I saw him look at me out of the corner of my eye.

"I never thought I would see you again." He smirked, reaching up for my cheek turning my face towards him. His hand slowly slid down the curve of my hip. His hand grabbed the back of my neck forcefully, pushing my lips into his. I felt a hand grope my backside. My body tensed up, and I tried to push away. He trapped me in his arms, and I could not break free from his grip. His lips let go of mine, and I caught my breath.

"See me again? I just met you! Get off me!" I tried pushing away again, but his grip was too tight. I tried screaming but he forced his lips into mine again. I was wriggling and squirming trying to break free but I couldn't. I was still weak from being shot, and my wound started to hurt again. His lips let go of mine and he began to talk.

"I remember you when you lived here, with Lord Elrond. You were always so beautiful, you still are." He shoved his lips on me again. I couldn't break free.

* * *

**Kili:**

Nylelyth and her dancing partner had left the party. I waited for a couple moments, before finishing my ale and leaving. As I walked down the corridor to my room, I got a bad feeling. Something wasn't right. I glanced over to one of the doors, it was slightly opened. Creeping over to it, I began to here something that sounded like a struggling. My heart was pounding, I could start to feel the effects of the ale. Balancing while I was crouched became the biggest challenge as I listened to the struggle. I slowly opened the door, making sure no one saw me. The sound of the struggling became louder and stronger, as I continued to open the door. The voices grew louder, and I saw a cream colored dress, struggling against a blonde haired elf. It was Nylelyth. The elf had her pressed against him, his hand on the back of her head pushing their lips together. She was struggling, but her arms were trapped between them. She tried to push away but his arms kept her there. I shot up from my crouched position.

"Hey!" I yelled. The elf looked at me. "Get your filthy hands off her!" I was about to draw a dagger. I wouldn't hesitate to rip the filth's arms off. He glared at me.

"Go away, dwarf." He replied with a smirk on his face. "This does not concern you." Nylelyth looked at me, her eyes were frozen in fear. I drew my dagger.

"I said, get your filthy hands off her." He gripped her tighter, putting himself between me and her. I saw her reach down for the dagger on his belt, and I did my best to keep him distracted.

"I said, dwarf, this does not concern you."

"I believe it does concern me." Nylelyth had reached the dagger, and like a flash she whipped it up to his neck. He spun around to face her.

"I do not remember you, nor do I wish to. I believe it is time for you to leave." She whispered to him, with the dagger poking into his neck.

"I suggest you do as she says." I said. "She's not afraid to use that, trust me." He turned towards me, glaring down at me. He shoved past me and ran out of the door. Nylelyth dropped the dagger and leaned against the railing with her head in her hands. She was shaking. I stood next to her, not saying anything. I didn't really want to know how that whole situation had started.

* * *

**Nylelyth:**

Kili stood next to me. I was shaking because I was so angry. He didn't say anything, he just stood next to me quietly. After a while, I began to calm down. My hands stopped shaking.

"You should go to bed." I whispered. "It's late."

"I want to make sure you're okay first." I looked over at him, and crossed my arms.

"Kili, I'm fine. Don't worry about me anymore. After you leave you won't have to." We sat in silence for a few moments, soaking in the fact that we'd never see each other again.

"Why were you so upset earlier?" He asked.

"Oh," I looked down at my hands. "I... um.. Found out some stuff about myself. And my mother." He looked at me like he was expecting me to tell him, but I remained quiet. He would never believe me if I told him, I mean how could he? I certainly didn't look 2,000 years old, nor did I feel it.

"What did you find out, if you don't mind me asking?" He scooted closer to me,

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me." His eyes flicked to me. "I've heard some pretty unbelievable things in my time, like one time I heard that Bombur stopped eating for three hours. And then of course he dived head first into a roast chicken." We both chuckled, he looked into my eyes and my heart beat a little faster. We sat in silence for a little bit longer.

"Well," I chimed in "I'm not really sure how to put this. But I'm part of the Maia."

"Which means what exactly?"

"Well.. I'm immortal. And apparently I have been alive for 2,000 years but I just didn't remember." Kili looked at me. His eyes wide.

"You certainly look good for your age." He joked, and I giggled. "Nylelyth... I-" Just then, Arwen came running out from the party.

"Nyle?" She yelled for me. "Where are you?"

"I'm over here!" I yelled back. She looked over at the patio with Kili and I on it.

"Oh, is this a bad time?"

"Well-" Kili tried saying, but I interrupted him.

"No, we were just talking." I shot him a dirty look.

"What happened to Emeryn? All I saw was you two leaving." She looked at me with worried eyes.

"That filth isn't allowed near her anymore." Kili chimed in. His eyes hard with anger as he looked up at Arwen. "He shouldn't even be allowed here."

"What happened?" Arwen looked even more worried.

"It was nothing-" I started to say but Kili interrupted me.

"I walked in on him forcing himself onto her." I flinched, hearing something like that, it brought up memories that I tried to forget.

"Are you alright? Where did he go?" Arwen was looking me up and down.

"I'm alright-" I tried to assure her, but Kili interrupted me again.

"She pulled a dagger on him, and he left."

"I will talk to my father, he will never be allowed here again. Nylelyth, I'm so sorry. I did not know that he was bad news. If I had known, I would not have let you dance with him. Amin hiraetha, mellonamin." She placed her hand over her heart and bowed her head, and I did the same. That is the equivalent to a hug to the Elves.

"N'dela no'ta." She turned away, and walked back to the party. Kili was looking at me. "What?"

"You speak Elvish?" He looked astounded.

"Of course I do. I lived here for several hundred years, it was kind of a requirement."

**Translations:**

**Amin hiratha- I'm sorry**

**N'dela no'ta- Don't worry about it**

**Mellonamin- my friend**


	9. Secret Meetings

**Nylelyth:**

_They held me down, tying my hands to the bed posts. I couldn't escape. I tried pulling my hands free. I tried screaming, I tried anything that would save me from what was going to happen. They tied a gag around my mouth, so no one would hear. My heart beat faster and faster, I thought it was going to pop out of my chest. They all argued about what to do with me._

_"I say, we take her with us." The biggest one said. "For a little entertainment on the road." He let out a husky laugh._

_"I say we kill her now," One of the smaller ones chimed in. He pulled out a knife that was already stained with blood. I squirmed on the bed and let out small whimpers from behind the gag. Tears streamed down my face as I struggled to break free. The bigger one pushed the smaller one back._

_"Let's have a lil' fun first." He motioned for the others to leave, and they walked out and shut the door. The man got closer and closer to me. I tried to kick him when he got closer, but he grabbed my legs. "A fiesty one aren't ya? I like it when they put up a fight." He began to get on the bed, I tried to wiggle and writhe away from him but I was stuck. He got on top of me. My heart beat faster, still squirming, he grabbed my face. He held a knife to my throat. "If you scream, I will slice your throat open, like I did with your mother. Do you understand?" I nodded out of fear, the tears hot on my face. With the knife still in his hand he bent over and began to smell my hair. His knee began to spread my legs open. I started shrieking. He held up his hand in a fist and hit me in the face. He hit me over and over again until I blacked out._

I woke up that morning crying and gasping for breath. The tears ran hot down my face as I sat up in my bed. The door to my room was open, with an elf servant standing in the doorway.

"My lady." His eyes were wide with worry. "Lord Elrond has requested to see you." I ran my hands through my hair.

"Thank you," I replied. "Tell him I will be there soon." He nodded and closed the door. I took a couple deep breaths to hopefully cleanse the dream from my head. I hopped out of bed, there were clothes folded neatly on the chair across the room. Arwen probably had that done. I slipped on my trousers and my tunic, and set off to find Lord Elrond. I was sent to the same tower that Lord Elrond had brought me to when I met Lady Galadriel. When I got there, I was pleased to find that Gandalf was there.

"Ah, Nylelyth!" Gandalf exclaimed. "I'm glad that you could make it."

"Hello Gandalf," there was a different familiarity of Gandalf. Now that I remembered everything I realized that Gandalf and I had known each other for quite some time.

"Take a seat, Nylelyth." Lord Elrond gestured towards the stone table with the chairs around it. I followed his gesture and sat next to Gandalf. Lady Galadriel and Lord Elrond were both standing up. "Now that you're here, there is something that we would all like to discuss."

"I believe we are missing one dwarf." Gandalf chimed in. As he said that, Thorin walked up on to the patio. "Ah, here he is. Now we may begin." Thorin had a disgusted look on his face, as if even being in the presence of elves made him sick. He stood next to Gandalf's chair and crossed his arms, still looking disgusted.

"It has come to my attention that the company of Thorin Oakenshield is intending to enter the kingdom of Erebor." Lord Elrond announced to everyone.

"What of it?" Thorin sneered at him.

"Some would not deem it wise." Lady Galadriel said.

"Also, it has come to my attention that you will march upon the mountain, with or without our help." Lord Elrond replied.

"I do not need help from the elves. They do not know what the term help means." Thorin snapped at Lord Elrond.

"Save me from the stubbornness of dwarves," Gandalf rolled his eyes. "We are trying to help you Thorin. Everyone knows that no matter what, you will try to reclaim Erebor. None of us can stop you. Which is why, we have decided to send Nylelyth with you."

"What?" My eyes got wide. "Me? Go with the company? Gandalf, I do not think that is wise."

"Nylelyth," Gandalf continued. "You have a special set of abilities and skills that could be very useful to the dwarves on their quest. You have been trained in the art of Elven healing, you are trained in battle, and do not forget that you are also part of the Maia."

"He is right, amin hinya. I guided you for many years. If I believed you were not capable of this quest I would not have agreed." Lady Galadriel said.

"But, I just began remembering everything. Do you not think it is too soon for me to be going on a quest? I do not belong with the company."

"She is right." Thorin agreed with me. "A woman does not belong in my company. She will only cause for a distraction. Nothing more." I glared at Thorin, I could feel the blood pumping through my veins.

"Do you doubt me Thorin Oakenshield?" I stood up from my seat, looking directly into his eyes. "Do you not recall the moment when I took an arrow for you? I could have stepped aside, I could have let you get shot. And knowing your contempt for the elves you wouldn't have accepted their help. You would have rather died. Do not doubt me Thorin Oakenshield, I am the last person that you want to underestimate." I sat down, for a moment everyone was silent. Thorin was staring at me, I avoided eye contact with him.

"I will not be responsible for your fate." Thorin finally said.

"Agreed." I replied to him. I stood up, still raging from his comment earlier.

"You will go with them, Nylelyth?" Gandalf questioned me.

"Yes," I replied. "I will go with them." I walked to the doorway, bowed, and took my leave. I ran down the stairs to find Arwen. I needed to tell her that I was leaving again.

**Thorin:**

After Nylelyth left the room, I began to discuss with Gandalf about her coming with us.

"Gandalf, why her?"

"Because Thorin, she needs this. As do you. She was trained by Lady Galadriel in Elven magic, and Elven healing. She is very powerful. She needs to remember this, I think this quest will do her some good. It will be good for the both of you to open your eyes, and your minds."

"Fine. But I am not responsible for her. She is to take care of herself." I said. Gandalf nodded in agreement and I took my leave. I went back down the stairs to find the company and to tell them what was happening. They were all out in the court yard, having a small tournament. I stood on the balcony above them and watched, with a slight smile on my face. Seeing my nephews smile so wide, and laugh so loud brought me joy. Originally, they were not supposed to come on this quest. They were to stay in the Blue Mountains. But they persisted, and I finally gave in. Even though their mother, my sister, was not to keen on the idea, they came. In the center of the ring for the next duel was Fili and Dwalin. I watched as Fili dodged Dwalin's attempts at knocking him over. I had trained Kili and Fili, since they were old enough to pick up a sword, to be warriors. Kili had seen me watching.

"Come join us Uncle!" He yelled up to me. I heard footsteps coming down the corridor I was standing in. Maude came up and stood next to me. Kili was still looking up at us and his smile grew slightly larger when Nylelyth came.

"I have seen the way he looks at you." I said to her. She didn't reply but I could see her face turn red. "I have known Kili and Fili for their whole lives, and he has never acted this way towards any other person except his brother." She looked down at her hands.

"If I do go with you, nothing will happen between Kili and I." She finally replied. "I promise you that, Thorin."


	10. The Stubbornness Of Dwarves

Kili:

As I packed my things I couldn't help but be slightly upset that Nylelyth was not coming with us. The sun rose over the horizon, its rays bleeding over the forest and the river. When all the company was ready, we met in the dining room. Nylelyth was there. Her hair was pulled back into its normal style, and her deep green tunic made her hair look darker, but also made her eyes more piercing. I ate my breakfast in silence as she giggled and joked with Bofur. Why was she even with us right now? I thought to myself. Not that I didn't want her there, I wanted to see her as much as I could. I ate as slow as I could, so maybe I could see her longer. But soon the company was ready to head out. We grabbed our things, and headed to the front gates of Rivendell. Nylelyth came to say goodbye to us, with Lady Arwen. They stood at the gate, Nylelyth's hands were folded in front of her.

"I want to give my greatest thanks to all of you." She announced to all of us. "I was not a part of the company, but you treated me as one of your own. I can never repay you for that. I wish you all the luck in the world." As we filed out of the gates, I paused, knowing that I would never see her again. Slowly, my feet forcefully took me forward. I looked down the whole time, so I wouldn't have to look at her. Before I could fully leave, she grabbed my wrist. I looked up at her.

"I want you to have this." She placed a bracelet in my hand, folding my fingers over it. It was gold, and had carvings in elvish all around it. "It says: Tenna' ento lye omenta, which means 'until next we meet.' Lord Elrond gave it to me, and said that it was my mother's. I want you to have it to remember me." She pressed my hand against my chest. I couldn't think of any words to say.

"I can't take this, Nylelyth."

"It's a gift. Keep it." I paused, still silent. I pulled her into my arms and kissed the top of her head.

"Until next we meet." I whispered. Thorin called my name, telling me to keep up. I stepped away and turned around, and jogged to catch up to the group.

Nylelyth:

I watched the company climb the steps out of the valley I sighed. Arwen stood next to me with her arm around my shoulder.

"You could have gone with them, you know." She said after a long pause.

"I couldn't. I can't. It's too late. My place is here. I don't belong with them, no matter how much Gandalf wants me to, I just don't." I turned around and walked back inside. I slowly trudged to the patio of my room, looking over the valley. I thought of everything that happened. I couldn't help the tears that came to my eyes. He's gone, and he's never coming back. Feeling utterly exhausted, I laid in my bed and let the sleep take over.

The next morning, I woke up to loud foot steps out side my room.

"Nylelyth!" I heard a voice yell, with no hesitation they busted my door open, not even bothering to knock. It was Gandalf.

"Gandalf, what's wrong?" His face was filled with worry.

"You need to catch up to the company. They are in grave danger." He replied.

"What's going on?"

"It's the Pale Orc. He knows what Thorin is doing, and he is sending out a pack to find him and kill him. You need to warn the company." Without questioning it, I started to shove things in my bag. An extra set of shoes and clothes. I clipped my dagger, and my sword to my belt.

"How far do you think they are?" I asked him.

"If you go fast, at least a day." He told me. I nodded as I ran out the door, grabbing my bow and my quiver.

"Arwen!" I yelled. She was walking down the corridor. "Arwen! The company is in danger, I have to go help them." She nodded as she listened to me.

"Don't waste anymore time, mellonamin." She said. "Aa' i'sul nora lanne'lle " She placed her hand over her heart and bowed her head. I couldn't help myself, I pulled her in close and held her tight.

"I will see you again." I whispered.

"I do not doubt you. Now go! You have no time to waste!" I turned and ran towards the gates. Gandalf had a horse ready for me. I hopped on.

"I will meet you at the edge of the mountains. Make sure Thorin knows the orcs' plan!" He yelled to me as I galloped away up the trail.

It was raining, hard. The path had narrowed, and I could no longer ride my horse. I turned her around to let her go back to Rivendell. I traveled along the path until I could see the company. They were as soaked as I was. I began running in hopes of catching up to them. Over my head, there was a thundering boom, and showers of small rocks came pouring down. I looked into the ravine, there was a stone giant. Throwing huge boulders towards the path we were walking on. I ran faster.

"Thorin!" I yelled. As I got closer, more booming sounds could be heard. All of the sudden, the path they were walking on began to split in two. They were walking on one of the giants. As the giants legs split apart, the company was split in two. The other giant threw another boulder, hitting the giant with the company on it's legs in the head. I ran faster up the path.

"Kili!" I yelled out of instinct. They were going to fall off. The giant was stumbling around as it's head fell to the ground, knocking out the path I was running on; creating a huge gap between me and them. Without thinking, I scaled the side of the path, balancing on what was left of it. As I cleared the gap, the leg of the giant with half of the company on it crashed into the side. All of the dwarves jumped off of it, and watched in horror as the giant stumbled about with everyone else on its other leg. All of the sudden, the leg with everyone on it smashed into the wall of the ravine. I was sure everyone was crushed, or squashed against the wall. I sprinted towards them, as fast as I could. As I got around the corner, I saw a giant pile of dwarves. I sighed out of relief.

"Thorin!" I yelled at him. He looked over to me, the rain was hitting my face and it was almost impossible to see.

"Nylelyth?" He replied. "We need to find shelter!" Without another word, I began helping the dwarves up.

"Where is Bilbo?" Bofur screamed. "Where's the hobbit?" Bilbo had been launched off the side and was hanging on for dear life. His hands were slipping. Everyone reached down to try and grab him. I jumped down on to a rock that was sticking out, with one hand I pushed Bilbo up to the dwarves so they could reach him. The rock below me began to crumble, I swung both my hands up and Thorin helped me up.

"I thought we had lost our burglar." Dwalin said, giving me a pat on the back as if he was congratulating me on saving him.

"He has been lost, ever since he left home. He should have never come. He has no place among us." Thorin snapped back. Everyone looked down in silence, and we moved on. A little ways down the path, there was a cave. I was hesitant to go in it, caves in the Misty Mountains were rarely unoccupied. As we settled in, I went to talk to Thorin.

"Thorin," I began. "The orcs. The Pale Orc is coming for you."

"That filth," He replied, glaring at me. "Died of his wounds."

"Thorin, you don't understand. He is going to cut you off at the edge of the Misty Mountains. We need to find a different route."

"There is no other route. This is my quest. We will do it my way." He stomped off.

"Save me from the stubbornness of dwarves." I whispered to myself.

Translations:

Aa' i'sul nora lanne'lle – may the wind fill your sails


	11. Bloody Shirts & Goblin Whips

**still Nylelyth:**

We settled in the cave warily. The company had greeted me warm kindheartedly back into the group.

"I knew she'd come back." Bofur smiled as he put a hand on my shoulder. "The lass loves adventure. I can see it in her eyes." I saw Kili across the way, staring at me. He had that little smirk on his lips and I couldn't help but smile. The dwarves were all surrounding me, talking about how glad they were that I was back. Kili came marching over, broke the circle and wrapped me in a tight hug. His arms slid around my waist, and he lifted me up off the ground. I wheezed as he squeezed me tighter.

"I never thought I'd see you again." He whispered in my ear, burying his face in my hair.

"Now brother," I heard Fili walk over. "I bet she missed me more than she could ever miss you." I giggled as Kili let me go. Fili came and gave me a hug. After all the welcomings were over, and we had all eaten, I settled into a corner for sleep. I had been riding for a day straight, with no rests or breaks. Needless to say, I was utterly exhausted. Fili and Kili both came to sleep beside me, one of them on either side. They took turns blowing in my ear, and when I would look, they would pretend like they were just laying there. They insisted it was the wind. After a while, they finally stopped and I fell into a deep sleep.

I heard shuffles, the floor began shifting. Everyone started rustling around, they had heard it to. I sat up, Bilbo's sword was glowing. Goblins. Before I could say anything Thorin started yelling.

"Everyone get up! Everyone move!" It was too late, the floor opened up. We all fell in, toppling and tumbling over each other. The tunnel we were falling into eventually lead into a cage. We all plopped into the cage, I had the wind knocked out of me as Bombur landed right on top of everyone. The cave we fell into was brightly lit, with boardwalks built all around going each and every way. Before we could even begin to get up, a herd of goblins came rushing towards us. They ripped us up and forced us down one of the board walks. I tried fighting back, but there were too many of them. Every time I pushed one away, another would fill its place. We were shoved on to a large platform in the middle of everything. On what looked like a throne sat a ginormous goblin. The fat under his chin hung down to his chest, it wiggled every time he moved. His face and his body were covered in warts. On top of his head sat what seemed like a crown, 4 bones tied to a stick that stuck to the top of his head. When we were forced to the platform, he was singing along to a song with his screechy voice.

"Hammer and torch, get out your knockers and gongs! You wont last long on the end of my prongs! Clish, clash, crush and smash, bang, break, shiver and shake! You can yell and yelp! But there aint no help. Pound pound, far underground. Down, down, down in Goblin Town!" He wailed, carrying out the note on the end. "Catchy. Isn't it? It's one of my own compositions." Even just looking at him talk made me feel sick.

"That's not a song!" Balin cried out. There were murmurs of agreement from the dwarves. "That's an abomination!"

"Abominations. Mutations. Deviations. That's all you'll find down here!" He raised his hands out as if to show us Goblintown. "Who would be so bold as to come armed in my kingdom? Spies? Thieves? Assassins?"

"Dwarves, your malevolence. We found 'em on the front porch." One of the goblins spoke up.

"Dwarves!?" The Goblin King yelled out. "Search them! Every crack! Every crevice!" The goblins started to rip all of my belongings off of me and throw them on the ground. They snatched Oin's hearing trumpet and smashed it on the ground, completely crushing it. One of the goblins grabbed me and began searching all over my body for hidden belongings or weapons.

"Hey!" Kili yelled at him. "Get your hands off her!" He pushed the goblin away but more of them came in and held him back.

"What are you doing in these parts?" The Goblin King asked, raising a nasty eyebrow at us. We all remained silent. Oin stepped up.

"Don't worry lads, I'll handle this."

"No tricks!" Roared the Goblin King. "I want the truth! Warts and all."

"You're going to have to speak up." Oin said while holding a hand to his ear. "Your boys have flattened my trumpet."

"I'll flatten more than your trumpet!" He came rushing towards us. Bofur stepped up before he could get closer to us.

"If it's more information you're wanting, I'm the one you should speak to!" The Goblin King stopped in his tracks and raised his eyebrow again. Bofur continued. "We were on the road... Well it's not so much as a road as a path... not even that, come to think of it, it's more like a track. Anyways, the point is we were on this road, like a path, like a track, and then we weren't! Which is a problem, because we were supposed to be in Dunland last Tuesday."

"Enough!" The Goblin King yelled. "Since you have decided to play tricks, I will get the information my way." He pointed to me. "Take them all to the cages, but leave the weakest one." My eyes got wide. The goblins grabbed me, their sharp, little claws digging into my skin. I tried to fight back but their grip got tighter.

"No! Nye!" Kili yelled. He fought against the goblins that were pushing him back the way he came. They ended up dragging him back, and he kept fighting.

"Kili!" I yelled back to him, there was no response. I was all alone. They tied my feet together and my hands in front of me. They hung me from a hook in the middle of the platform. There was a rack of devices to the side of the king's throne. The Goblin King stood there, contemplating which device to use. He picked out a whip. My heart beat faster. I felt like it was going to explode.

"You will tell me who you are, and why you are traveling here." He demanded with the whip in his hand. His face got close to my face as he looked into my eyes, and I spit on him. There was no way I was going to tell him. "You will tell me." He snapped his chubby fingers and two goblins came up and ripped the back of my shirt completely off, showing my bare back. "Do you still wish to remain silent?" I didn't say anything, I clenched my body as I awaited the whip to meet my back. I heard his arm swing back, and the crack of the whip on my body. The pain seared my back, but I didn't make any noise. I was going to remain silent. Tears formed in my eyes as he swung again. I lost track of how many times he swung, but I didn't say a word.

"This doesn't seem to be working." He sounded disappointed. "Let's try something else." He made his way back to the rack to pick out another device. Tears were streaking down my face, my back burned and I could feel the welts bleeding. I heard stomping behind me. "Let's see if this works." The Goblin said. I felt a searing pain, I couldn't help it. I let out a devastating scream. The Goblin turned to face me, holding a red hot branding iron to my face.

"Please..." I whimpered, the tears still pouring from my eyes.

"Would you listen to that!" He cried out, while chuckling. "A lady with manners! You're going to need a lot more than a simple please to get you out of this." He lifted the front of my shirt and pressed the iron into my skin. I heard it sizzle as he pressed into it. As I let out another scream, he let the iron up. "What is your name?"

"Nylelyth.." I whispered. My back was searing, the blood was running hot down it.

"Good." He said condescendingly. "Now, who are you traveling with?" I didn't answer. If he found out he would tell the Pale Orc, and he would know where to find us. The fate of the whole company relied on me not saying a word. He turned to my back, and pressed the brand into me again. The scream that left my lips echoed throughout the halls of Goblintown. The pain was almost unbearable.

"I guess we will try something else." He went back to his torture rack, while I hung there and hoped that this would end soon.

* * *

**Fili:**

Kili launched himself at the doors to the cage we were in. It had been eerily silent, and then we heard a blood curdling scream. We all paused. Kili began hurdling himself harder at the door.

"Kee!" I shouted at him. "Leave it! You'll do nothing but injure yourself!"

"I have to help her!" He shouted back. "Who knows what that filth is doing to her. I need to help her!" He rammed against the door again. Kili has always been more stubborn than I was, which is why I knew he would never give up. I sighed out of frustration.

"Kee, keep watch." I pulled out a small pouch from my pocket. Little did anyone know that I was a very skilled lock pick. No one but Kili knew this, so I tried my best to hide it from my uncle. The lock softly clicked and I pulled it open, releasing the door. I stepped back, and everyone looked at me with wide eyes.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Dwalin asked, I looked over at him.

"No where." I snuck out of the cage and looked around for the goblins, all of them seemed to have disappeared. The screams had gotten louder and more blood curdling. I could tell they were filled with pain, you could hear the terror pouring out of her mouth.

Nylelyth:

My face was swollen and bloody, the Goblin King had resorted to throwing me on the ground and beating me. He had pulled the whip out again. I lay on the ground, whimpering in pain. He leaned in closer to me.

"Who are you traveling with." He asked again.

"Thu-Thorin" I sobbed, I was crying by now. My whole body was in pain, I was afraid to move because if I did I felt like I would fall apart. All of the sudden, I heard running towards me, but it didn't sound like goblins.

"Ah! And here he is!" The Goblin King shouted. All the other goblins soon surrounded all of us. "The king under the mountain! Oh but I'm forgetting, you don't have a mountain. Which makes you no one, really."

"Nylelyth!" I heard someone yell, and rush towards me. The Goblin King stepped in front of me, swinging his staff to hit whoever was rushing towards me. Out of nowhere, a bright light appeared, with a huge gust of wind, knocking everyone off their feet. I laid there and let the wind blow over me, hoping that I would die soon. The pain I was in was almost unbearable. When the light had faded, and the wind stopped a loud voice carried over all of us.

"Take up arms. Fight. Fight!" The voice called over us. I felt hands sweep me up and heave me over their shoulder, like a sack of potatoes. Too weak to say anything or fight back, I hung there over someone's shoulder as they fought off the goblins that had begun attacking us. I heard the clash and clang of swords against swords, and the squeals as goblins flew over the edge of the boardwalk. My vision slowly faded to black as they fought off the army of goblins that was attacking.

* * *

**Kili:**

Dwalin had slung Nylelyth over his shoulder as Fili and I threw weapons to the other dwarves. The Goblin King looked at us with wide eyes.

"Get them! Cut off his head!" He yelled at us. Goblins came rushing towards us. I was hitting goblins left and right with my sword, while keeping an eye as to where Dwalin and Nylelyth were. She was unconscious, only making small murmurs and barely moving. All of the sudden, goblins surrounded Dwalin, he was only able to fight with one hand. I yelled over to Fili. He nodded and we rushed towards them. Fili got down on all fours and I used his back as leverage to jump over the circle of goblins surrounding Dwalin. I cut down goblins from all around me. When we all finally got a path clear, Gandalf yelled to us.

"This way! Follow me!" We all followed him without hesitation. A huge herd of goblins came running towards us as we ran down one of the pathways. Dwalin handed Nylelyth to me, I held her close to my chest. Dwalin and a couple other dwarves picked up a giant post and charged at the goblins, screaming at the top of their lungs. With the post, they swept goblins off the path. As I ran behind them, Nylelyth was moaning, her eyes fluttered open and looked at me. I held her closer as we charged further into the path. Arrows came flying out of no where, almost hitting Nylelyth and I. I passed her off to Fili as I picked up a ladder, shielding myself from the arrows. When the goblins came close enough, I slammed the ladder down on top of them, trapping them between the rungs. With help from Dwalin, I pushed them back until they fell off the path. We pushed on until we got a rocky passage. The goblins were sprinting up at us from the bottom. Fili had given Nylelyth back to me, and I had her dangling over my shoulder while I held my sword in my other hand. Gandalf had hit an overhang of rock with his staff, creating a huge boulder. With a giant heave from us, the boulder rolled down the path, wiping out all the goblins. We rounded the corner, and the Goblin King jumped in front of us from what seemed like out of no where. Which was weird because he was huge. He swung his staff at Gandalf, and then banged it on the ground.

"You thought you could escape me?" He yelled as he swung again. "What are you going to do now wizard?" Gandalf gripped his sword. He reached up with his staff, hitting the goblin right in the eye. While was yowling in pain, Gandalf cut his stomach with his sword. He fell to his knees. "That'll do it." Gandalf sliced his throat with a final swing. As he fell dead on to the platform, the wood beneath us began to crumble and crack. All of the sudden, it completely collapsed. Everyone dove to the ground while we were sliding down the rock, towards the bottom of the cave. I had swung Nylelyth back around and held her in my chest and covered her head while we fell. When we got to the bottom, a bunch of the falling wood fell on top of us, including the flat part of the platform that was above us.

"Well, that could've been worse." Bofur called out to us. The Goblin King's dead body came crashing down, landing on top of the platform that fell above us.

"Ugghh. You've got to be joking." Wheezed Dwalin. Practically the whole population of goblins came rushing towards us from above. "There's no way we can fight them off." Dwalin said.

"There is one thing that will save us. Daylight. Quickly!" Gandalf said, while running into the cave. We all followed. I swept Nylelyth up in my arms, holding her to my chest. She murmured and whimpered as her eyes fluttered. Her face was badly bruised, the whole back of her shirt was ripped open, I could feel the blood that was coming out. I'm glad that the Goblin King was dead after what he did to her. If he hadn't died, I would have killed him myself.


	12. Magical Revelation

**Kili:**

"Where is Bilbo? Where is our hobbit?" Gandalf cried. Everyone looked around them.

"Curse the halfling, now he's lost?" Dwalin replied.

"I thought he was with Dori!" Gloin answered.

"Don't blame me!" Dori argued. Looking offended that he would blame it on him.

"Well where did you last see him?" Gandalf questioned. As they argued about where Bilbo was, I laid Nylelyth on the ground. Her eyes fluttered and a soft mumble escaped her lips.

"Nylelyth?" I stroked her cheek. "Are you awake? Please stay with me Nye, please stay with me." I took her hand and kissed the top of it.

"I'll tell you what happened," Thorin shouted, looking at me. "Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it. He's thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since he first stepped out of his door. We will not be seeing our hobbit again. He is long gone!" Everyone looked at the ground disappointed. They all looked at Nylelyth, as she laid on the ground, unconscious. I was scared, scared that she wouldn't make it. Out of the forest I saw a small person form out of no where. Fili had also noticed.

"No," said Bilbo. "He's not gone. He's right here."

"Bilbo!" Gandalf said warmly. "I have never been so happy to see anyone in my life!" While they all questioned him about how he escaped, I kept talking to Nylelyth.

"Nye, Nylelyth? Are you awake?" Her eyes slowly opened. "Nylelyth. You scared me."

"Wha-what happened?" She whispered, as she tried to lean up she winced. "What's going on?"

"We escaped." I smiled at her. "We got out of Goblin Town." Thorin interrupted me by asking Bilbo how he escaped.

"But why did you come back?" He asked.

"Look, I know you doubt me." Bilbo replied. "I know you always have. And you're right, I often think of Bag End. I miss my books. I miss my armchair. And my garden. See, that's where I belong. That's home. And that's why I came back. Because you don't have one. A home. It was taken from you. And I will help you take it back, if I can." We all looked up at him, including Nylelyth. She reached up for my hand and squeezed it.

"Azog..." She whispered to me, pointing upwards. I looked to the top of the mountain. A huge orc sat there atop a giant white warg. He yelled something in black speech and several wargs jumped out from behind him, sprinting towards us.

" Out of the frying pan..." Thorin said.

"And into the fire." Gandalf replied. "Run. RUN!"

* * *

**Nylelyth:**

Kili had torn me up from the ground and swept me into his arms, I was too weak to struggle against him. As we ran deeper into the forest, the trees began to become sparse, at the end of the forest there was a huge cliff. The sun had gone down, leaving us in almost complete darkness, except for the tiny bit of light that the moon had given us. As the wargs grew closer and closer, we reached the end of the forest that led to the cliff.

"Into the trees!" Gandalf called out. "Quickly!"

"Hang on." Kili said as he swung me around. I latched my arms around his neck for dear life. The burn on my stomach was stinging as it pressed against his back. He jumped to the nearest branch and hoisted both of us up. We climbed higher as the wargs below us had stopped running and were beneath the trees, looking back at their master. Thorin was in the tree next to Fili, Kili, and I's. He looked at Azog in shock.

"It cannot be..." He whispered. I unlatched myself from Kili and stood on the tree branch next to him, he wrapped a sturdy arm around my waist. My legs wobbled as I tried to hold myself up. Azog stroked his white warg while glaring at us.

"Do you smell it?" He said in black speech. "The scent of fear? I remember your father reeked of it, Thorin son of Thrain." Thorin's jaw hung open. Azog turned to his riders. "That one is mine. Kill the others!" The wargs had started to jump on the trees, ripping off the lower branches with their powerful jaws. The trees began to shake violently, I clung to the trunk as it shook, closing my eyes trying to ignore all the pain I was still in. My legs were quaking beneath me. The tree roots popped out from out of the ground, and the tree was tipping sideways. I looked Kili, he pulled me closer to him as our tree fell into the next one, and then the next one. The chain reaction of the trees forced us to jump from one to the other repeatedly until we were on the tree that was on the very edge of the cliff. Kili had me close in his arms as we settled on the last tree, with Fili to the right of me and Gandalf above us. The Pale Orc laughed as he secluded us to a single tree. All of the sudden a small mass of fire came soaring over us and into the herd of wargs. It lit the ground around them on fire and they scampered away.

"Fili!" Gandalf called from above, tossing down a flaming pine cone. Kili held one up next to it and it burst into flame. They passed it around until most of us had flaming pine cones and were throwing them at the wargs and the orcs. It was working! A circle of flames had gone up, building a wall of fire between us and them. Azog looked at us in complete shock and anger. We let out a celebratory cheer as the wargs had backed off. The weight of all of us caused the tree roots to give way, the tree had fallen horizontal over the cliff. We held on as we dangled over thousands of feet of nothing but air. The blood on my back had dried, there was a mixture of heat from the fire and the wind that blew below us that sent chills up my spine. Behind me I heard screams of terror as Ori held on to Dori's leg for dear life. Thorin's gaze had not left Azog, with a mighty swing, he hoisted himself up from the branch. With his sword drawn, he marched towards the Pale Orc. As we all struggled to hold on to the branch, I knew what I had to do. Thorin would die if he stood alone against Azog, but if I could get over there in time, he still may have a chance. I could feel the adrenaline pulsing through my body, all the pain I was in earlier had seemed to slowly drain from my body as I lifted myself up on top of the branch.

"Nylelyth! No!" Kili yelled at me, but he couldn't grab me in time as I sprinted towards Thorin. I felt my hand grip around my sword as Azog rode towards Thorin, mace in hand. His swing hit Thorin square in the chest, sending him flying backwards. I heard someone yell "No! Thorin!" As I sprinted towards the two, I pulled out my bow. Shooting down any orc or warg that came close to me in the blink of an eye. The white warg picked up Thorin, digging his teeth into his chest. Thorin managed to escape, but was thrown violently from the mouth of the warg. He laid on the ground, unconscious and bleeding.

"Bring me the dwarf's head." Azog commanded one of his riders. The rider hopped off his warg and pulled out his sword. Before I could react, I saw a small mass run out of no where, and tackle the orc. It was Bilbo! He had tackled the orc that was at least three times his size, and stabbed him over and over again until he was surely dead.I was completely in shock, but without hesitation I stood between Azog and Thorin.

"You will not touch him again." I demanded, drawing my sword. Bilbo stood behind me. Azog's expression didn't change. He slid off his warg, never breaking eye contact with me. The Pale Orc was at least twice my size, his sunken eyes were surrounded by scars from what looked like could've been a warg. His chest was also filled with these scars, three claw marks going each way towards his shoulders. His arm that had been cut off by Thorin was replaced with a metal claw-like form. His warg snarled and snapped as he stood in front of me. I stood my ground, with my sword drawn. He stood before me, looking down. All of the sudden, he swung his mace at me. Thankfully, I had ducked before the mace had met my head. Before I could react, he had grabbed my throat with his claw. Holding me up above the ground, I began to choke. I couldn't breathe, his claw was too tight around my throat.

"Nylelyth!" Bilbo screamed, but another orc came running up, and he defended himself, leaving me alone against the Pale Orc. He threw me down next to Thorin, I rolled until I landed on all fours. I coughed and coughed, until blood and mucus dripped out of my mouth.

"You think that you could defeat me?" Azog laughed, as he paced in front of me. "You are nothing but a human. You are weak. You are nothing." He swung his mace up to deliver the final blow.

"You will not touch him again." I whispered as I held my hand up. Around me a storm of wind came bursting through, knocking everyone around me to their feet. Even Azog. "Yala onna en' vilya!" I chanted and the wind grew stronger around me. All of the sudden, behind me, something came in and picked Thorin up. The eagles! The giant eagles were always helpful in a time of need. Everyone on the tree, that was now threatening violently to fall off the cliff, had jumped off and landed on the eagles. I lowered my hand and grabbed Bilbo, I was weak. All of the adrenaline from earlier had vanished, and I was feeling all the pain again. Azog was on the ground, still trying to comprehend what had happened. Behind us, an eagle swooped in and took us both in it's claws and dropped us over the edge. Azog sprinted to the edge, and let out a huge scream of rage. We fell for what seemed like forever, but I felt myself thud on a feathery surface. The eagles had dropped us off on a massive rock structure, towering over plains and forests. Bilbo helped me jump off the eagle with a steady hand on my back and my arm around his shoulder. When we got to solid ground, I collapsed. It was over, we escaped Azog.

* * *

**Kili:**

As I climbed off the eagle with Fili, Nylelyth collapsed on the ground. The back of her shirt was still completely torn, exposing the gashes and the burns that had been inflicted on her. Bilbo stood there helpless, looking around.

"Gandalf?" He yelled. The eagles had laid Thorin down next to her and everyone else surrounded us. Finally Gandalf came running from the edge of the formation.

"Thorin! Nylelyth!" He called as he got to their sides. He placed his hand over Thorin's eyes and mumbled words that sounded incoherent. All of the sudden, Thorin's eyes opened and he gasped for breath as if he had been held under water. Fili helped him up, as he seemed to be completely healed. Gandalf placed his hand over Nylelyth's eyes, but the words didn't seem to be working.

"Gandalf." I whispered. "Please, do something." I held her hand as Gandalf no placed both his hands over her eyes. His chants became louder and filled with more power. I felt a strong grip and she gasped for breath. "Nylelyth!" She didn't get up like Thorin did, she laid there and wheezed as if she couldn't get enough air. When Thorin was steady on his feet, he turned to Bilbo and Nylelyth.

"You two!" He shouted, Bilbo's face went white. "What were you doing? You nearly got yourselves killed! Did I not say that you would both be a burden? Did I not say that neither of you had a place amongst us? And that neither of you would not survive in the wild?" Thorin's glare shot at Bilbo, and he shifted uncomfortably. Thorin stepped closer. "I have never been so wrong in my life." He pulled Bilbo in for a a tight embrace. "I am sorry that I ever doubted either of you." He had let go of Bilbo and grabbed Nylelyth's hand.

"All I want to say is," Her voice was rough and cracked. "I told you so." Thorin let out a big laugh, as did everyone else. "Thorin, the Goblin King, I didn't tell him anything. The only thing I said was my name and your name." She had a worried look in her eye as if Thorin was going to banish her for talking.

"It doesn't matter any more, Nylelyth." Thorin replied. "That is in the past. You have shown your true loyalty to this company. I would be honored if you would like to officially join the company in the quest to reclaim Erebor. Balin, do you still have the contract?" Balin pulled out a folded up sheet of paper.

"I have it right here." He handed it to Thorin and he opened it up. With Ori's sketching charcoal, Nylelyth officially became a part of the company of Thorn Oakenshield. Everyone applauded. As we turned around to face the road ahead of us, we all froze. Lying directly before us, we could see the outline of a single solitary peak. The Lonely Mountain.


	13. Night Terrors

**Bilbo:**

As I peered my head over the rock, the Pale Orc had paused from his sprint to sniff the air in hopes of picking up a scent from us. He looked towards my general direction, and I popped back behind the rock. Over to the right of me, I heard a low growl that was definitely not from a warg. Looking in the direction, I saw a huge four legged beast, that looked somewhat like a bear. But it was much much bigger, and seemed far more ferocious. I ran as quietly as I could, which was very quiet, back down to the small landing where the company was waiting for what I had scouted.

"How close is the pack?" Dwalin barked.

"Too close, a couple of leagues, no more. But that's not the worst of it." I gasped for breath between my words. Even after all the traveling I was still not in very good shape.

"Have the wargs picked up our scent?"

"No not yet, but they will. There's another problem." I replied still gasping.

"Did they see you? They saw you!" Gandalf said.

"No that's not it." I was beginning to catch my breath and continue my sentence, but Gandalf interrupted me.

"See, what did I tell you? Quiet as a mouse!" He exclaimed, smiling at all the dwarves. They nodded in agreement. "Excellent burglar material."

"Will you just listen!" I shouted. "I'm trying to tell you that there is something else out there!" All the dwarves continued to look at each other but the smiles faded from their lips.

"What form did it take? Like a bear?" Gandalf raised his brow.

"Ye-yes?" I looked at him with a surprised look, but his brow was still raised as if he was waiting for me to answer. "But bigger, much bigger."

"You knew about this beast?" Bofur jumped in out of no where. Gandalf shuffled uncomfortably. "I saw we double back." A few murmurs of agreements echoed.

"And be run down by a pack of orcs." Thorin argued.

"There is a house." Gandalf finally put in. "Where we might find refuge."

"Whose house? A friend or foe?" Thorin asked.

"Neither. He will either help us or kill us." Gandalf replied. Everyone looked at each other.

"What choice do we have?" Thorin questioned. Gandalf's face became almost stone like.

"None." Gandalf asnwered.

* * *

**Nylelyth:**

I was completely out of breath. The orc pack had finally caught up to us, and were chasing us through the forest. As we weaved in and out through the trees, all of us heard a roar that reverberated throughout the entire forest. The lot of us paused, and with wide eyes glanced around at each other.

"This way!" Gandalf shouted. "Come on!" We followed his orders and kept running. Bombur stood, frozen in fear as the beast roared again.

"Bombur! Come on!" I yelled as I pushed him in front of me. The forest broke in to a vast plain, and in the center was the house. A huge fence surrounded it, protecting it from the outside world. As we sprinted towards it, to everyone's surprise, Bombur dashed ahead of all of us, and was about 20 feet ahead of Kili and Fili, who were the fastest in the group. I couldn't help but chuckle at this, but then the beast let out another roar. My smile faded, and the beast came hurdling through the trees, charging right at us. We shot into the gate that led to the front door. The door was 30 feet ahead, but the bear was growing closer and closer. The closer is got, the more I realized that it was huge, a lot bigger than I had expected. Bombur was pounding down the path to the door, and when he reached it, was unable to stop, diving face first into the door. Kili and Fili came up next and pounded the door, trying to open it.

"Open the door!" Dwalin screamed, pushing Bofur and Bifur in front of him. The bear was even closer now, practically nipping at Dwalin's heels. The company was crowded against the door, banging and pounding, unable to open it. Finally, I jumped up to release the latch that had held it shut, and it swung open. I shoved everyone in, and I barely got in myself before the bear got to me. The door had slammed shut right on the bears nose, and as it snarled and snapped, everyone piled behind the door to shut it. Bilbo stood back and pulled his sword out, but his eyes were full of fear. After a final heave, we got the door shut and latched. I slid to the ground in exhaustion and tried to catch my breath.

"What was that?" Nori squealed.

"That is our host." Gandalf replied, wandering about the house. "His name is Beorn. He is a skin changer. Sometimes, he's a huge black bear. Sometimes he's a great strong man. The bear is unpredictable, but the man can be reasoned with. However, he is not ever fond of dwarves. We will rest here tonight. It will be safe." Everything in the house seemed to be at least three times bigger than if a regular human lived there, which meant that Beorn must be huge. I found a corner of the room to lay out my bed, and Bilbo laid his next to mine. I gave him a soft smile and went to find Gandalf. At one of the chairs in the kitchen, Gandalf sat and was smoking his pipe.

"Gandalf, I must speak with you." I insisted.

"Ah, hello my dear. How is your back?" He replied.

"It's fine, but there's something else. Back after Goblin Town, when Azog was attacking Thorin...and I used... I don't even know what it was. But it had knocked him over, and everyone else. It was like a storm, but I created it... How can that be?" I asked, with a tone of worry in my voice.

"I did happen to notice that." He smirked. "My dear, you were trained by Lady Galadriel. It is no surprise that you have powerful magic, even if you can't remember it."

"But, I chanted a spell or some sort. I don't even remember what I said or what it meant. How can I say something that I don't know?" The evening sun was starting to set, and tones of orange and yellow streamed through the windows of the house.

"Magic has a funny way of sticking with you." He informed me. "Most magical beings are born with their powers, like you and myself. Others learn a few spells here or there. We have been lucky to be born with the powers, for it takes a great many years to learn the spells that we have engraved into our minds. Even though you have forgotten what to say, your mind has not." I stared at the rays of the sun that were on the wall in front of me.

"Well, how come I don't have a staff, like you do?" I leaned back in my chair, kind of jealous that I didn't get a walking stick.

"The staffs are purely for show. Although they center the powers, they have no powers by themselves." He went on. After I had all my questions answered, it was night time. The sun had been long gone, and most everyone was sleeping. I snuck over to the door and slowly creaked it open. The warm breeze of a summer night glided over my face, and I stepped outside. There were all kinds of animals here, there were goats and chickens inside, the cows and the horses stayed outside in the stables. I went to the stables and began to stroke one of the ponies. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small moving light. It flickered, and swayed up and down, and all around through the air. Fireflies, the garden was full of them. They speckled throughout the area, dancing in the dim moonlight. A smile spread across my lips as I watched the little bugs go about their business, completely ignoring me. They would buzz around the flowers, shoot up in to the air, and then back down. As I kept watching, they began to get closer to me. One landed on my shoulder, it was abnormally large for a lightening bug. I began to feel like everything in this place was abnormally large. I reached out my hand to provide a sturdy landing pad for the bugs. A couple of them landed on me, but as soon as they landed, they flew up in to the sky again.

"I heard that they are attracted to the brightest of lights." A strong, husky voice chimed behind me. "Which goes to show how radiant you are." I spun around to meet Kili's gaze. His dark brown eyes that always seemed to pierce my soul, and melt my heart at the same time. I picked at my fingernails as he stepped closer to me. He picked one of the flowers from the bushes, and placed it in my hand.

"Thank you." I smiled as I looked down at it. The outer petals of the flower were a lavender, but the closer you got to the middle the color changed from lavender to white. One of the smaller lightening bugs came and landed on the flower. We both laughed.

"What are you doing out here by yourself?" No matter how hard he tried, I could always here the worry behind his voice.

"I just thought I'd get some fresh air." I replied as I twirled the flower between my fingers, forcing the little bug to leave. "What are YOU doing out here?"

"I just came to check on you. I noticed you were gone and thought I should investigate. Can't have important members of the company running off." He teased. His voice had a sternness to it, like a soldier talking to his captain, but I knew he was joking. His stern face faded into his normal smile.

* * *

**Kili:**

The sound of thrashing around in the hay had woken me up. I bolted up from my bedroll, scanning the surrounding area. My hand was on my dagger, ready to attack. The muffled sounds of a struggle became stronger. I wasn't the only one that heard it, Fili had sat up also, and with a furrowed brow, he signaled me to stand up and investigate. At the same time, we got up, as quietly as we could. There was movement, coming from the corner of the room next to Bilbo. I tip toed over there with Fili. Nylelyth, in her bed, was violently thrashing, and flailing. It looked like she was trying to fight something off. I dropped my dagger and ran to her side, Fili did the same. Bilbo had woken up to the sound of her thrashing even harder and to us rushing over to her. As Fili held her arms down, she convulsed under his hands, I grabbed her face and shook her gently. The hot tears that came from her eyes rolled over my hands.

"Nylelyth," I whispered. "Wake up! Please. Wake up." Her tears stopped, and she was mumbling something. I leaned in closer to hear what she was saying. All of the sudden, Fili jumped back, shaking his hands as if he had touched something hot. As I held on to her face, the skin beneath my hands began to get warm to hot, until I couldn't hold on any longer. I pulled off my hands, and her skin began to glow red, as if she was going to catch on fire. She keep mumbling, and slowly kept getting louder and louder until the rest of the group had woken up. She thrashed all over again, and I tried my best to keep her down so she wouldn't hurt herself or anyone else.

"Nylelyth!" I heard behind me. Gandalf came running up. "How long has she been like this?" He rolled up his sleeves and felt her forehead, but his hand jumped back in pain as his hand sizzled against her skin.

"I don't know. Fili and I came over here and she was moving all around like she was having a bad dream and then it got worse." I replied, still trying to hold on to her while she wiggled around. Gandalf placed part of his sleeve over her forehead and laid his hand on it, he was whispering words, and her eyes shot open. She gasped for air like she had been running for miles. I looked at my hands, they were blistered and burned, Fili's were the same.

"Wha-what happened?" She leaned up as she coughed.

"I could say the same to you." I replied. "What do you remember?"

"I was having a dream, and then I woke up and you were all surrounding me."

"You were having a night terror." Gandalf told us. She glanced at Fili and I's hands.

"What happened to your hands?" She bolted upright and grabbed mine. "Did I do that to you?"

The group had scattered back to their beds and there were pounding footsteps at the door.

"He is here." Gandalf whispered to us as he rose to greet whoever was at the door. The rest of us froze in our positions while a giant man sauntered through the door. I couldn't see his features all that well in the dark, but he was huge. Standing well over six feet tall, he towered over everyone, even Gandalf.

"Hello, Beorn." Gandalf nodded his head to greet him. Beorn returned the gesture and glanced over at the dwarves who were all staring at him with wide eyes.

"Gandalf," his deep voice growled. "I didn't know you were bringing company."

"Ah, yes. I apologize for the intrusion." Gandalf said wearily.

"We will wait until the morning to discuss this." He growled again. He stomped through the house and upstairs to what was most likely his bedroom. I looked back at Nylelyth, after a pat on the shoulder, Fili left us and went back to his bed.

"Did I do that to your hands?" She whispered to me, a glint of fear in her eyes.

"Yes, but are you okay?" I tried to distract her from it. She was so caring about everyone, that I knew if she had realized what she had done, it would rip her apart inside.

"Yeah, I'm okay." She replied, the fear had left her eyes and despair replaced it.

* * *

**Nylelyth:**

I attached my bag to the saddle, and took a deep breath. The horse shook his head, and I contemplated whether or not I should actually leave. The sun was about to rise. I couldn't bear to think that I could hurt anyone in the company so badly. Fili and Kili both had blistering burns on their hands, and it was all my fault.

"Where do you think you're off to?" I heard from behind me. In the doorway of the stables, Kili leaned against the door frame.

"No where." I patted the pony, and made sure my bags were attached correctly.

"Oh, so you just decided to pack up a pony, and you're not going any where?" He sassed back to me. His feet were soft against the ground as he stepped behind me. I was checking the straps again, waiting for him to leave. There was a warm presence behind me. "Are you leaving?" I looked down at my feet.

"I have to Kili," I replied, still looking at my feet. "I can't stay here. I don't belong. Even if I signed a contract."

"You can't leave. Not now." Desperation flowed through his voice.

"Kili, I'm no good here. All I do is hurt people." My chin quivered as I tried to hold back the tears that were coming.

"Nylelyth.." He rested a hand on my shoulder. I felt the bandage that was wrapped around it. "If this is about the burns, it doesn't matter. You have done so much for the company, and for me. I won't let you leave." I spun around to meet his gaze, the tears that had been pooling in my eyes dripped out.

"I can't stay.." I whispered through the tears. As I looked at him, his eyes flicked between my eyes and my lips. He leaned in closer, filling the empty space between us. I felt his hot breath on me, as he kept leaning in. His lips grazed over mine, ever so slightly. As if he was testing my boundary line. I was so intoxicated by the moment, my mind had not consciously registered what was happening. His hands brushed over my hips, and I stepped closer to him. For the first time, our lips met. I pulled away, trying not to show how vulnerable his lips had made me. The faint taste of honey had lingered as I pulled away. His hand slowly raised up to the side of my face, and he smiled. I could feel the soft whisper of his breath, the warmth seeped into my skin. His lips summoned mine once more, all my self control oozed into his skin. The room around us seemed to spin, I clutched to his body, and he pulled me closer to him. Fueled by the fusion of our lips, the passion between us made me blind to the room around me. Everything I had ever feared had left my body, I had forgotten everything that made me want to leave. His beating heart against mine felt natural, like we were made for this. We were made to be one, to move in unison, to be joined together with complete and utter surety. His lips pressed against mine.

"Am I interrupting something?" A voice called from the door. I broke away from Kili, and jumped back. Fili was at the door. Arms crossed, and a furrowed brow.

"Fili..." I paused, pure shock had engulfed my face.

"You know, Thorin won't be too happy to find that a member of his company has been found canoodling around with his nephew." He added. I opened my mouth to argue but nothing came out except for stutters. Kili remained silent, looking at his feet. "Lucky for you two, he won't find out." Both Kili and I let out huge sighs of relief. Fili walked over to both of us, and put his hands on our shoulders, and a huge smile from shined from his face. He brought us both into a huge hug and I couldn't contain my joy.

"Are you still going to leave, Nylelyth?" Kili blurted out. Fili stepped back, concern clouded his face.

"Leaving? Why would you leave?" I looked down at my feet, and my face turned bright red.

"Well.." I started but Kili interrupted me.

"It matters not, what matters is that you are staying with us." He winked at me.

"Alright." Fili said. "Let's go get some breakfast." I nodded and followed the brothers back into Beorn's house.


	14. Ew, Spiders

**Kili:**

"So, you are the one they call Oakenshield." Beorn growled in a voice that boomed over all of us. "Tell me, why is Azog the Defiler hunting you?"

"You know of Azog? How?" Thorin replied, shock filled his voice.

"My people were the first to live in the mountains, before the orcs came down from the north. The Defiler killed most of my family, but some he enslaved. Not for work you see, but for sport. Caging skin changers and torturing them seemed to amuse him." The remnants of shackles on Beorn's wrists made this ultimately believable. He filled Fili's cup full of milk. Nylelyth was sitting next to me, eyes fixed on Beorn as he talked. Underneath the table I reached over and squeezed her thigh. She shot me a death glare and I smiled. The taste of berries and spring remained on my lips from our encounter moments before. The memory of her body pressed against mine had sent me to a state of ecstasy,

"You need to reach the mountain before the last days of autumn?" Beorn asked, his voice still a low growl.

"Before Durin's day falls, yes." Gandalf replied.

"You are running out of time." Beorn looked at Gandalf.

"Which is why we must go through Mirkwood."

"A darkness lies upon that forest. Fowl things creep beneath those trees. There is an alliance of the Orcs in Moria and the Necromancer in Dol Guldur. I would not venture there except in great need." Beorn said as put his jug of milk down on the table.

"We will take the Elven road. That path is still safe." Gandalf protested, inhaling his pipe.

"Safe?" Beorn almost laughed at his response. "The Elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin. They are less wise and more dangerous. But it matters not."

"And why is that?" Thorin interrupted.

"These lands are crawling with orcs. Their numbers are growing, and you are on foot. You will never reach the forest alive." Thorin's crossed arms fell to his sides. Everyone looked at each other, compete despair in their eyes. "I don't like dwarves. They're greedy and blind. Blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own. But orcs, I hate more. What do you need?"

* * *

**Nylelyth:**

"Go now." Beorn called to us as we rode away on the ponies he had given us. "While you have the light." I rode towards the back, still not feeling sociable from what happened last night. The burns on both Fili and Kili's hands were blistered, and I couldn't bring myself to look at them any more. Earlier I had pretended it was okay, but now that we were on horseback, my feelings took over.

At ending of the plains, a dark forest loomed over the yellow grass. It stretched north and south as far as the eye could see. As we rode closer, an entrance the forest could be visible. The Elven gate of Mirkwood. We dismounted our ponies as we got to the gate.

"The Elven gate." Gandalf said to himself as he looked into the forest. He turned towards us. "Here lies our path through Mirkwood."

"No sign of the orcs," Dwalin cheered. "We have luck on our side." I helped Bilbo slide off his horse.

"Set the ponies loose." Gandalf replied as his strolled closer to the forest. "Let them return to their master." Gandalf walked through the gates to the forest as we released our ponies and pushed them towards Beorn's house. As I gathered my things off of my pony, Fili roamed over to me.

"You know." He began. "Kili and I have had burns that have been worse than this, there was this one time, in the forges-"

"Fili," I cut him off. "It doesn't matter to me if you've had worse. What matters is that I did it to you. It was me, I'm a monster and I shouldn't be here. I can't control my magic and I'm too dangerous to be around anyone." I stared down at my shoes. The edges had been splattered with mud, and were practically falling apart.

"The point is," He interrupted me now. "We don't care about the burns or anything. What matters to us is that you are okay." I kept staring at my shoes, refusing to look at Fili. A familiar voice rang in my head. Something moves in the shadows unseen,hidden from our sight. Every day it grows stronger. Beware of the Necromancer. He is not what he seems voice called, it was Galadriel. I searched around to see if anyone else had heard it, everyone seemed to be completely normal. If our enemy has returned, we must know. Gandalf, go to the tombs in the mountains. Fili stared at me with wide eyes, he was mouthing something but everything around me had gone silent.

"Nylelyth? Are you okay?" He said.

"Yeah, yeah." I replied. "I'm okay." My hand rested on Gandalf's horse, and I reached for the buckles.

"Not my horse!" Gandalf shouted and I turned away from Fili. "I need it!"

"You're leaving us?" Bilbo asked.

"I wouldn't unless I had to, Master Baggins." He replied, and jogged over to me. "Nylelyth, you must stay with the company, and protect them. The power you once had is making itself known, the more you fight it, the more harm it will do." He placed a hand on my shoulder, and I nodded.

"I'll be waiting for you at the Overlook, before the slopes of Erebor." He called down to us from his horse. He looked directly at Thorin. "Do not enter that mountain without me. This is not the Greenwood of old. The very air of the forest is heavy with illusion. It will seek to enter your mind and lead you astray. You must stay on the path; do not leave it. If you do, you will never find it again." With a flick of the tail, the horse sped off in the direction that we had just came. I turned to the forest, the darkness seemed to seep out like fog from between the trees. As we marched in, I took one last look at the sun, knowing that I wouldn't see it again for a long while.

The forest air was thick. Breathing felt like being face first in a pit of molasses, heavy and sticky. The path we marched down was only about two feet wide, forcing us to walk like ducks in a line. I was at the back, and struggling to keep up. Kili was in front of me, his feet were shuffling against the dead leaves that littered the path making it almost impossible to actually see it

"Air, I need air!" Someone shouted from ahead. The floor of the forest was spinning, the dwarves ahead of me were growing further and further away.

"Kili! Help!" I tried to yell, but no words came out. The floor of the forest opened up, swallowing me into a deep abyss of nothing. I curled into a ball and closed my eyes, hoping I was imagining all of this, praying it wasn't real. Arms folded around me and I opened my eyes slightly and the ground had returned. The dwarves were back and I wasn't in a dark abyss. I had collapsed to the ground, Kili had me clutched to his chest and was shaking me, trying to get me back to reality.

"Nylelyth? Nye? Wake up!" He started to panic, this situation had been all to familiar to the both of us. I opened my eyes fully, revealing that I was awake and very much alive. His eyes and his whole body relaxed and he pulled me closer into his chest. "I thought I'd lost you again." He whispered.

"Kili, I'm fine." I felt the bandages on his hands on my arms. "Can you please let me go, we should keep moving." I tried to stand up, but the sudden movement had my head feeling like it was under a giant boulder. The company had been wandering about, we had lost the path.

"Look, a tobacco pouch." Nori said, picking up a tobacco pouch from the ground. "There's dwarves in these woods."

"Dwarves from the Blue Mountains, no less." Bofur replied, snatching the pouch from Nori. "This looks exactly the same as mine."

"That's because it isyours!" Bilbo argued with him. "you understand? We're lost, we're going around in circles."

"We keep heading east." Thorin growled to all of us.

"Which way is east?" Someone hollered back. Mumbles of arguing came from the dwarves.

"It's not use, we've lost the path!" Kili shouted, plopping himself down on the ground.

"We need to find the sun." Bilbo whispered, I was the only one who heard him.

"Quick Bilbo, climb the tree. Find the sun." I helped Bilbo hoist himself up the tree, hopefully he would find it before it was too late. The dwarves were growing violent, shoving and pushing each other and arguing over which way they thought was east. I tried to break up the fight closest to me, Fili and Kili.

"Will you knock it off!" I yelled, shoving them away from each other.

"Enough! All of you!" Thorin roared from the front of the group. His voice lowered to a whisper. "We are being watched." The dwarves seemed to forget their bickering and became utterly silent, scanning the perimeter. I could hear Bilbo up above, rustling around in the leaves of the trees. Or was it him? The rustling sounded large, almost too large to be Bilbo. I pulled out my bow, it was definitely not Bilbo. It came from all around us. Everyone had their weapons drawn, and we stood in a circle, backs facing each other. Fili and Kili both stood infront of me, pushing me to the center of the circle with Ori, Nori, and Bombur. My head still felt like it was beneath a huge boulder. All of the sudden, from the darkness of the forest, a giant spider popped out of no where. The lot of us scattered about the forest out of fear, completely abandoning our formation. Disoriented from the air of the forest, my feeble attempts at running had left me face first in the ground. The spiders had multiplied, now there were almost too many to count. One had found it's way over to me, it's stinger dripping poison. Before I could react, I felt it jab me in the stomach. My vision became blurry, like moving in a fog. Blackness moved into my vision, breathing steadily became my only concern as I fell further into the darkness.

* * *

**Kili:**

The sticky web coated me like a caterpillar in it's cocoon. My brain had felt so much clearer than before, I could finally think straight. I tried to reach for my dagger, to cut myself out of the mess of the web. It was no use, the web was wound so tightly around me, that my arms were glued to my sides. Outside of the web, I could hear something stirring around me. All of the sudden, I started to fall. Panic had set in, there was no way I was going to survive a fall from high up in the trees, even if I was high up in the trees. With a hard thump, I landed on the ground, next to Thorin and Fili. I ripped myself from the web and cursed in Khuzdul. The rest of the company was falling from the tree branches and plopping around us, and then tearing apart the webs. The spiders had finally noticed our escape and once everyone was out of their webs we began to run.

"Where's Bilbo?" Bofur yelled out to us.

"I'm up here!" A voice called from up above in the trees. Bilbo stood on a branch, holding his sword with a big smile on his face. He lost his balance as he tried to climb down. The spiders had now surrounded us as we ran into a small clearing. Their fangs dripping with saliva, and their stingers dripping with poison. Nylelyth stood between Fili and I as she drew her bow. Loading it with an arrow, I followed her lead, grabbing my own bow and preparing an arrow. I fired right into the spider's face, and it fell to the ground screaming. Bilbo had disappeared again as the spiders attacked in even more numbers now, completely surrounding us. One of them had knocked Bombur over and was looming over him, ready to feast. We sprinted over to him, each dwarf grabbing a leg and pulling as hard as they could. With a screech and a disgusting popping sound, it's legs had all came off, just leaving the pitiful body of a legless spider on top of Bombur. I couldn't help but laugh at the sight. I had been separated from the group, a couple of spiders around me. Shooting one with my bow, another came behind me, taking me by surprise. The spider sent me flying into the air, and my bow flew in the opposite direction.

"Kili!" I heard Nylelyth and Fili yell at the same time. I glanced over at them, all of the dwarves were surrounded by a guard of elves, all with their bows pointed at them. The spider above me had it's stinger ready as I tried to crawl away, it caught me by the foot and dragged me closer to it. Suddenly, the spider went limp and fell to it's side. A tall red headed elf stood before me, her eyebrow raised. She rushed past me, dagger out, and attacked a spider that was coming behind me. Another one was coming for us, I searched my body for anything, but I was completely empty.

"Throw me a dagger!" I called to her. "Quick!"

"If you think I'm giving you a weapon dwarf," she said between grunts of effort. "You are mistaken!" She stabbed the spider and quicker than light, whirled around, throwing the dagger, hitting the spider between the eyes. I looked back at her with wide eyes. She casually shrugged her shoulders, and pushed me into the circle with the rest of the dwarves.

They took all of our weapons, leaving us feeling naked and vulnerable. As they lead us through the gate, Nylelyth leaned over to me.

"Where's Bilbo?" She whispered. I looked around. Once again our burglar had disappeared.


	15. The Great Escape

**Nylelyth:**

The elves lead all of the dwarves, except for Thorin and I, to the dungeons. Thorin and I were shoved into a giant hall, and in the middle was a huge throne built from a tree. A tall blonde haired elf stood at the top of the stairs leading to the throne. Thranduil, the king of the Woodland realm.

"Some may imagine that a noble quest is at hand. A quest to reclaim a homeland and slay a dragon. I myself suspect a more prosaic motive: attempted burglary, or something of that ilk." He said to the both of us. Thorin stayed silent and I followed his lead. "You have found a way in. You seek that which would bestow upon you the right to rule: The king's jewel, the Arkenstone. It is precious to you beyond measure. I understand that. There are gems in that mountain that I too desire. White gems of pure starlight. I offer you my help."

"I am listening." Thorin replied, even though he tried to hide it, I could still hear the hate behind his teeth when he talked to Thranduil.

"I will let you go, if you but return what is mine." He said, a gleam in his eyes. I stood next to Thorin, my eyes glued on him, waiting for a reply.

"A favor for a favor." He repeated.

"You have my word." Thranduil promised. "From one king to another." I felt Thorin tense up at these words, even though I was feet away from him.

"I would not trust Thranduil, the great king, to honor his word should the end of all days be upon us!" Thorin spat between gritted teeth. He began to yell. "You lack all honor! I've seen how you treat your friends! We came to you once, starving, homeless, seeking your help, but you turned your back! You turned away from the suffering of my people and the inferno that destroyed us! Imrid amrad ursul!" Thorin shouted in elvish at him. Thranduil came closer, and shouted back.

"Do not talk to me of dragon fire!" The side of his face began to sink in to his cheeks, revealing deep scars. His eye became milky white, the muscles in his cheeks were showing through the hole of where skin should've been. "I know it's wrath and ruin. I have faced the great serpents of the North." As he backed away, his face returned to normal. "I warned your grandfather of what his greed would summon, but he would not listen. You are just like him. Stay here if you will and rot. A hundred years is a mere blink in the life of an elf. I'm patient, I can wait." The guards dragged Thorin away to the dungeons, leaving me and Thranduil in the room.

"Why is it," He said to me while pouring himself a glass of red wine. "That you are traveling with 13 dwarves? You are no dwarf."

"My name is Nylelyth." I replied. "I-"

"Yes," He interrupted me. "I know who you are. You are quite famous. What I want to know is how you survived. I had heard of what happened to your mother and did not think that you would have been released so easily. So tell me, how did you find the company of Thorin Oakenshield?"

"They found me." I said, standing up straighter. "After it had happened. After they killed my mother. I was in the forest, and I didn't know what had happened. They took me in and accepted me as one of their own." He sat in his throne and sipped his wine as I told him. His eyes made me feel insecure, I picked at my fingernails as he just stared at me.

"It seems odd that they would 'accept' you as one of their own, does it not?" He replied. "Dwarves are among the most stubborn of creatures, and to gain their trust takes more than a matter of who you are, but what you will provide them."

"What are you implying?"

"There is something that you can give the dwarves, where they cannot get from each other." He raised an eyebrow at me as he sipped his wine.

"I am no mere object of affection for the dwarves!" I began to yell, I was radiating hate inside and out. "I am Nylelyth, daughter of the great warrior Malkyr. I-"

"My lord," a voice interrupted behind me. I turned to see a familiar elf, with golden hair in the doorway. Emeryn. I cursed under my breath and turned back around. "You called for me?"

"Ah yes," Thranduil replied. "Take her to one of the guest rooms. But she is still our prisoner, remember that." He waved his hand at me, signaling that it was time for me to leave.

"Yes my lord." Emeryn bowed his head, and lead me out of the great hall, into a smaller hallway. He threw me into one of the rooms. He shoved me so hard that I had fallen on to the floor, and with a strong hand, he ripped me up from the ground. I tried to pull away, afraid of what would happen next.

"Let me go!" I struggled against him.

"It's so nice to see you again, Nylelyth." He slithered behind closed teeth, leaning in closer to me. "I just know that we will be spending a lot of time together." I tore myself away from his grip and punched him square in the mouth. He turned back to me and slapped me with the back of his hand, not holding anything back. I could feel the bruise already begin to form.

"Emeryn." A voice from the doorway called. We both turned to look. The red haired elf from the forest was there, her hands held sternly behind her back. "I believe that Lord Thranduil asked you to lead her to her room, and that was it. Your services are no longer required. You are dismissed." He turned away from me, eyes piercing into mine. He stomped out the door. She glanced at me, nodded, then shut and locked the door. I heard her quiet footsteps follow him down the hall.

A couple hours later, I was pacing next to the bed. How are we going to get out of this? I thought to myself. I was frustrated beyond measure. I felt like screaming and destroying everything in the room. There was a knock at the door, probably Emeryn trying to torture me again with his presence. The door swung open, but it wasn't Emeryn. It was the red headed elf from before.

"Who are you?" I said more coldly than I had expected.

"I am Tauriel. The captain of the guard." She replied, her hands behind her back.

"Oh." I said looking down at my feet, slightly embarrassed.

"It's my duty to check on all of the prisoners." She said. "Do you need anything?"

"I thought I was a prisoner?" I questioned her. "Aren't prisoners not allowed anything but food and water?"

"I over heard Thranduil talking about what had happened to you. I know what it's like to be in your position. Also I had seen what Emeryn did to you. I made sure to take care of that personally." She reassured me. There was a kindness about her that a lot of the other elves did not have. "I did not know that Emeryn had many friends outside of the Woodland Realm?" She came into the room and shut the door behind her.

"I would hardly call us friends." I objected.

"Well you obviously have a history together." She replied, a slight smirk on her lips. Something about her reminded me of Arwen, and how I missed Arwen dearly. "I'm curious as to how that history came to be." I almost laughed out loud at the thought of what had happened between Emeryn and I. He was most definitely the last thing on my mind since Rivendell.

"Well..." I began the long story of Emeryn and I. Starting from Rivendell, I told her everything that had happened between then and where we were. Suddenly there was a knock at the door, that scared both of us. The door swung open and a tall blonde elf stood in the doorway.

"Legolas." Tauriel bowed her head to him. "I was-"

"Tauriel, we need to get them out of here." He interrupted her while shutting the door.

"But Legolas, they are your father's prisoners, your prisoners. You are the prince, may I remind you."

"I heard Emeryn talking to someone, I couldn't see who it was but he is planning something evil. Very very evil." He said, Tauriel turned to me. "He said he was going to take her somewhere, he didn't say where. He said 'her powers will make the darkness stronger, the days of men are almost over, she will bring the end.'"

* * *

**Bilbo:**

I had followed the blonde elf from the forest down the corridor and hid just outside the room. My magic ring had made me completely invisible, but getting closer to hear what they were saying was greatly increasing the risk of getting caught. I was the last chance that the dwarves had of getting out of here. I heard Nylelyth's voice in the room.

"What? Bring the end?" She almost yelled. "What does that mean?"

"It means we need to get you out of here, all of you." The red haired elf replied to her. Taking a deep breath, I slipped into the room, and took off my ring, revealing me to everyone that was in there.

"Bilbo!" Nylelyth shot up from the bed and ran to hug me. "I thought we'd lost you again!" I hugged her back.

"I'm always one step behind you guys, picking up your mess." We both chuckled and turned back to the elves who seemed entertained with us being reunited. "What's the plan?"

Our plan was simple. Tauriel was going to distract the guards while Legolas led us down the back staircase into the dungeons and then into the cellar. From there, we would get into the wine barrels and escape from the trap doors and down the river. It seemed easy enough, the only difficultly being getting the dwarves to listen to us.

"I can only give you a small amount of time." Tauriel whispered to us. "Do not move unless on my signal." She shut the door to the stairway and left Blibo and I in the darkness with Legolas. The winding staircase led us deeper and deeper into the kingdom, making the plan seem less and less possible. We reached the end of the staircase and Legolas held his ear up to the door, and put his finger to his lips signaling us to be quiet. I heard the march and conversation of guards just outside the door, and my heart skipped a beat. As soon as they were gone, Legolas swung the door open, revealing the dungeons.

"We're never going to reach the mountain are we?" A sad disappointing voice called from one of the cells. Legolas handed me the set of keys as he went up to keep watch.

"Not in stuck in here, you're not." I popped out from the doorway and started to unlock the cell that Ori was in.

"Bilbo!" They began to cheer.

"Ssshhh!" I loudly whispered to them. "There are guards nearby!" As I finished unlocking all the cells, Nylelyth had them gathered on the central platform, shushing them to keep them quiet. Dwarves had a habit of being subconsciously loud. Legolas came down from his watch post and nodded at Nylelyth and I.

"What's he doing here." Thorin griped from the back of the pack.

"He's helping us escape." Nylelyth replied. "Now let's go before the guards find us." Legolas nodded again and started down the stairs.

"Follow me." He said to us, and with slight hesitation they followed.

* * *

**Nylelyth:**

The staircase winding downwards seemed to go on forever, and keeping the dwarves quiet was a challenge in itself. Their footsteps on the solid rock path were not quiet in the slightest. As we neared the end of the stairwell, Legolas held his hand up silently to signal all of us to stop. He peeked around the corner, and once again turned to us holding his finger to his lips to tell us to be quiet. I followed behind him as he tiptoed out into the open, and the dwarves followed. There were two guards, surrounded by empty wine bottles, probably passed out drunk, sitting at a table to the left of us. To the right, there were 13 barrels.

"Alright," Bilbo said to everyone in a hushed tone. "Get in." The dwarves all looked at him with confused faces.

"In the barrels? Are you mad?" Bofur protested. "They'll find us for certain!"

"Listen to him Bofur," I said. "He knows what he's doing." Legolas nodded to me and ran off, completely silent. Reluctantly, they all got in the barrels. After I made sure everyone had successfully gotten into their barrel, I realized that there wasn't enough barrels for me to have my own. I watched Kili as he slid over and patted the side of his barrel, with a huge grin on his face. I rolled my eyes and got in.

"What now?" Bofur asked as everyone popped their heads out.

"Hold your breath." Bilbo replied as he pulled the lever to the trap door.

"Hold m-" Bofur was interrupted by the door opening and the barrels rolling down into the river making a huge splash. As we fell, Kili and I's bodies smashed together, rolling and twisting together until we finally landed sideways in the water. Both of us were dunked underneath the water, as we came back up I gasped for air. As I leaned against the side of the barrel to catch my breath, Kili pushed aside the hair that had stuck to my face to reveal the bruise that Emeryn had given me earlier. His eyes grew concerned and I looked down at the bottom of the barrel.

"Who did this to you?" He asked, his eyes overflowing with anger and sadness.

"It's nothing," I replied. "I-" I was interrupted by Bilbo falling from the trap door and splashing into the river.

"Well done Nyelyth, and Master Baggins." Thorin congratulated us from the front of the group. Once Bilbo was safely hanging on to the side of Bofur's barrel, we were off down the river. As we neared the end of the cave that we were in, the water started to pick up speed.

"Hold on!" Thorin yelled as he ducked into his barrel. Before I could even resist, Kili wrapped me in his arms and tucked me into the barrel. The water was coming in from all directions, no part of me was dry. At the end of the waterfall, we floated to the top, bobbing like apples in a barrel. The elves had figured out our escape a lot sooner than planned, and they surrounded the shores of the river.

"Holo in-annon!" One of them shouted, and then someone blew a horn. Just in front of our way to freedom was a small guard post, the river flowing right beneath it. One of the elves pulled a lever from the bridge and as we got closer, the gate began to close.

"No!" Thorin yelled as he slammed against the metal. As we all smacked into each other, the elves drew their swords. Our plan had failed. Out of no where, and arrow flew into the back of one of the elf guards. He collapsed to the ground. I recognized the arrow immediately.

"Orcs!" I screamed. As soon as I yelled that, orcs came hurdling out of the bushes one by one. The orcs began to throw themselves on top of us in the barrels. One jumped on top of Kili and I's barrel, without hesitation I punched it right in the face and grabbed it's dagger, stabbing it in the gut. It fell backwards into the water and I saw a dark figure standing over me.

"Kili!" I heard Fili shout from behind me. Kili stood there, and orc charging for him and he was unable to protect himself. As instantly as I saw it, I jumped from my barrel, launching myself at the orc with the dagger in my hand. Tackling the orc, I drew the dagger above my head, and slammed it down into it's chest. It let out a wailing screech before falling silent. I picked it's sword up.

"Kili!" I yelled as I threw him the sword. I grabbed the extra one that was strapped to it's back and spun it in my hand. There were four more orcs charging at us. I nodded at Kili and we ran head first into them with our swords up high. I ducked to dodge the first blow, and jutted my sword into the orc's gut. I stepped aside to dodge the second blow of the orc bringing it's axe down, and sliced that one across the front. Kili had finished off the other two and went to pull the lever down. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched someone notch an arrow into a bow. It was no orc. I turned, there stood Emeryn, bow raised high, aimed right at Kili. His eyes lit up as he released the first arrow, hitting Kili in the leg.

"No!" I screeched. "Kili!" He clutched his leg in agony as he screamed out. Emeryn went to notch another arrow into his bow. I saw Legolas and Tauriel in the distance, fighting off orcs. Even if I called for them, there was no way they could get to us in time. Without pausing for a second I knelt next to Kili, pushed him into the water where the other dwarves could protect him, pulled the lever down to release them, and ran to Emeryn. He lowered his bow as I got closer to him.

"Please." I dropped the sword. "Please don't hurt them. I'll go with you."

"Aw. You care about them." Emeryn said condescendingly. He grabbed my arm and sprinted off with me trailing behind him. I heard the dwarves screaming for me as I ran, but I couldn't get them hurt by being there. Emeryn would've never stopped hunting me.


	16. The Hole In His Leg

**Nylelyth:**

We had stopped along the side of a canyon. Emeryn had tied my hands in front of me, taken all of my weapons, and was constantly watching me. So there was little to no chance of escaping.

"We'll stop here for tonight, my dear." He said as he helped me slide off of his horse. The sun was sinking down into the horizon, the sky filled with rays of orange, pink, and gold. With my hands still bound, he began to take all the supplies off the horse. I could run now, I thought to myself. I could run and he wouldn't be able to catch me. Without another thought I started to tip toe further away from him, he didn't seem to notice. I picked up my pace, and he whirled around to face me.

"I can hear you, ya know." He said. All of the sudden, I took off in a sprint. Weaving in and out through the trees, trying to lose him behind me. "Hey! Come back here!" He yelled as I kept sprinting as fast as my legs could take me. My hands were still bound in front of me, and I was trying to untie them. A fallen log had caught my foot and sent me flying face first into the forest floor. I heard footsteps behind me, getting closer and closer. The sweat beaded on my forehead as I panicked. He was going to find me. I thought. My last hope was to hide and hope that he didn't hear or see me. I scattered behind a tree, holding my nose and my mouth to silence my heavy breathing. His footsteps were close, the rustling leaves beneath his feet seemed to be only feet away from me. I held my breath in hopes of silencing myself. The footsteps slowed, pausing for a only a moment and continuing to grow closer.

Feet away from me, the fire crackled. My arms had grown sore from being tied behind my back. Emeryn sat with his back to me, feasting on whatever he had caught moments before. I sighed as my feeble attempts at untying my bonds from the tree failed again.

"You know," Emeryn called to me, his mouth full of food.. "If you didn't try to escape, maybe you could've joined me over here next to the fire." I didn't answer, he shrugged and continued to eat. The wind chilled me to the bone, and I shivered. My clothes were still slightly damp from the escape of Mirkwood only hours ago. Emeryn rose from his seat on the log, and started to walk to me. I shifted uncomfortably and he came to check on my bonds. His arm brushed against me, and I knew that this was my only chance of escape.

"Wow," I whispered under my breath.

"What?" He pulled back to look at me. "What is it?"

"Oh nothing," I looked down. He looked at me with disbelief. "It's just that I didn't realize how strong you were." I said as I looked back up at him, batting my lashes. His face filled with confusion as I continued to stare at him flirtatiously. His face softened, and he slightly blushed.

* * *

**Kili:**

The hole in my leg had been oozing black since the arrow had been ripped out. I leaned back in my barrel to try to recollect my strength. The river had slowed, and Thorin ordered us to make for the shore. Rolling onto the shore from my barrel, the pain shot up my whole leg, making it almost unbearable to even lay there. But still, I pushed on. I limped up to the boulders that sat by the shore and leaned against one.

"Kili!" I heard someone yell. It sounded like Nylelyth, and my heart skipped a beat. Maybe what I had seen was just an illusion? Maybe she wasn't gone? Seeing her run away with the pretentious golden hair elf had left me angry, but also heartbroken. For her to give up her life so willingly angered me. My mind had deceived me, the person yelling to me was Fili.

"Kili, are you alright?" Fili said to me as he looked at the hole in my leg.

"It's nothing." I pushed him away.

"On your feet." Thorin ordered.

"Kili is wounded." Fili argued with him. "His leg needs bindings."

"There is an orc pack on our trail, we keep moving." Thorin demanded. As he discussed where we would go now, I faded slightly. Their voices were fuzzy and my vision was blackened for moments at a time.

"She'll come back Kee. I just know it." He reassured me, and I looked into my brother's eyes. Although he was good at hiding it, I still saw the doubt in his own eyes. None of us knew what would happen to Nylelyth, no one knew if Emeryn would kill her or hurt her even worse.

"Bind his leg quickly." Thorin barked at Fili. "You have two minutes."

* * *

**Nylelyth:**

Emeryn had untied me. I was sitting on the ground next to him, and his hand slightly grazed my knee. Shivering in disgust, I tried my best to hide it.

"Whatever happened to the dwarven prince? The archer that you were so keen to protect." He snarled as he spoke.

"Oh," I stuttered, trying to think of an excuse. "He's nothing."

"It didn't seem like nothing." He snipped again.

"Well," I continued. "He was the quickest way to power for me. If I got him to fall for me, he'd want to marry me. If he married me, then I would be in the royal family." Even faking like I was marrying Kili for power made me want to throw up. Everything about this was wrong, but it was the only way to think of getting out. Emeryn leaned in and kissed me on the lips. I closed my eyes and prayed it would be over soon. He pulled away and I faked a smile.

"We share the same attraction for power." He smirked, his hand moving up my leg more. I started to panic.

"I'm going to use the bathroom." I shot up and ran behind a tree. To my disbelief he didn't even try to follow me. He remained at his spot on the ground, probably swooning at the fact that he thought I had feelings for him. Pulling the knife that I had hidden on my chest, I clutched it in my hand as I breathed in and out, calming myself down. This is was it. This was my only chance of escape. I turned from behind the tree out into the open. Emeryn sat on the ground still, looking up at the sky. I walked up behind him, my hear racing.

"Isn't it beautiful?" He whispered as I raised my knife. Without hesitation, I brought it down into his chest. Screaming in pain, he shot up and ripped the knife out, throwing it on the ground next to him.

"You stupid bitch!" He screamed at me. "I knew I couldn't trust you!" He grabbed me by the neck and threw me to the ground. Clawing at his hands, I tried to kick my way out of his death grip. His face turned bright red out of anger. Only when I had begun to slowly lose consciousness did he let go.

"I would kill you if I could, whore." He growled behind his teeth. "But the master wants you alive." He kicked me over onto my back, my hands sprawled out into reaching distance of the knife. I snatched it up and I slammed it into his thigh. He hollered out in pain again and collapsed to the ground. I jumped on top of him, punching him repeatedly. He blocked my final punch, and flipped me over so I smashed to the ground. Toppling and tumbling over and under each other, both of us fought to restrain the other. He flipped me over again, my head landing over the side of the canyon. His hands wrapped around my neck again, squeezing harder than before. My eyes were bugling from my head as he squeezed, my vision blurred. I used my feet for one final push, using all the strength I had left, to catapult him over the side of the canyon.

* * *

**Kili:**

"Do it again and you're dead." The man pointed an arrow at me. The hand that once held a rock that was about to be thrown was now empty.

"Excuse me," Balin piped in. The man swiveled to face Balin with his arrow. "You're from Laketown, if I'm not mistaken? That barge over there, it wouldn't be available for hire by any chance?" The man lowered his bow and looked at us. His black shoulder length hair was tied half up, the coat he wore looked like it had seen too many winters. He started to gather the barrels into his barge.

"What makes makes you think I will help you?" He asked as he kept putting the barrels in.

"Those boots have seen better days." Balin stepped forward, with a charming smile. "As has that coat. No doubt you have some hungry mouths to feed. How many bairns?"

"A boy and two girls." He replied with a twinkle in his eye.

"And your wife, I'd imagine she's a beauty." Balin carried on.

"Aye, she was," He replied solemnly, slowing down as he put the barrel on the barge.

"Oh, I didn't mean to-" Balin was interrupted.

"Oh come on, come on! Enough with the niceties." Dwalin erupted. My leg had been bound but the pain still shot throughout my body.

"What's your hurry?" The bargeman replied, crossing his arms.

"What's it to you?" Thorin snapped at him.

"I would like to know who you are and what you are doing in these lands." He stared Thorin down.

"We are just simple merchants from the Blue Mountains journeying to see our kin in the Iron Hills." Balin smiled again, but the bargeman didn't seem to believe our lie. Every second of standing there, bickering back and forth was a second I was wasting not going after Nylelyth. Every second, she was further and further away from me.

"Simple merchants you say?" The bargeman replied in disbelief.

"We'll need food, supplies, weapons. Can you help us?" Thorin interrupted. The bargeman turned around, and seemed to be deep in thought.

"I know where these barrels came from." He said as he stroked the hole that one of the arrows had made. "I don't know what business you had with the elves, but I don't think it ended well. No one enters Laketown without the leave of the Master. All his wealth comes from trade with the Woodland Realm. He would see you in irons before risking the wrath of Thranduil." Balin looked back at the company, his eyes wide. At this moment, I could care less about the mountain, or this quest or any of this. The only thing I cared about was getting Nylelyth back into my arms where I knew she would be safe, but I knew Thorin would forbid it. I stood in the back of the crowd, leaning against a boulder to maybe alleviate some of the pain that was shooting through my leg.

"I bet there are ways to get in without being seen." Balin argued.

"Aye, and for that you would need a smuggler." He replied.

"For which we would pay double." Balin interjected. The bargeman's face grew soft, and the corner of his mouth curled up into half of a smile.

* * *

**Nylelyth:**

He had fallen into the ravine, arms flailing, into the river that rushed at the bottom. My heart pounded, almost falling out of my chest, as I laid there and tried to catch my breath. It was over, Emeryn was gone. I needed to get back to Kili. In the midst of the fight, Emeryn's horse had bolted, and I was at least a days ride away from where I had last seen the company. Who knows how far they had gotten, and I had no way of getting to them besides walking. I grabbed my bow and my sword and started to run towards the place that I had seen them last.

I had been running for what seemed like forever. The sun was rising, rays of yellow and gold poured over the landscape. For the first time, I saw the Lonely Mountain. The peak stood higher than I thought it could be, it was surrounded by sharp ridges sprinkled with snow. I stopped for a second to gather my thoughts. They were headed in that direction, if I could find my way to the river and follow it down, then I might be able to catch up to them. All of the sudden, I heard a horse galloping behind me. I whipped out my bow, notching an arrow into it. Legolas and Tauriel came bounding over the hillside, riding at full speed.

"Nylelyth!" Tauriel yelled as she hopped off her horse. "We've been looking everywhere for you. After you ran off with Emeryn, I was sure you were lost forever."

"The company" I asked. "Where did they go?"

"They were headed towards Laketown." Legolas broke in.

"What happened to Emeryn?" Tauriel questioned me, her face wild with concern. "How did you escape?"

"He-he fell." I whispered back, still in shock. "He's gone."

"Nylelyth…" Tauriel cooed to me.

"We have another problem." Legolas chimed in again.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's Kili…." Tauriel said looking concerned again.

"What about him? Is he alright? What happened?"

"The arrow that Emeryn shot… it was tipped with morgul poison…" Tauriel said looking at me with wide eyes.

"No…." I knew what this meant. In a day or two, possibly even hours, Kili would be gone. The poison would take over, leaving his body alive, but his mind dead. "I need to find him. Which way is Laketown?"

"That way." Legolas pointed. He handed me Tauriel's horse. "If you ride fast, you'll be able to catch up to them in a day."

"Thank you." I placed my hand over my heart and bowed my head.

"Now go," Tauriel nudged me. "They need you." I jumped on the horse and rode as hard and fast as I could.

* * *

**KILI:**

"What are you trying to do? Drown us?" Thorin snapped at the bargeman. He looked down upon Thorin with a condescending smirk on his lips.

"I was born and bred on these waters master dwarf. If I wanted to drown you, I wouldn't do it here." The bargeman replied, still smirking. Thorin rolled his eyes and turned away. Although no one said it, there was a sadness looming over us from the loss of Nylelyth. Everyone was silent because of it. Balin counted our coin while the rest of us either sat or stood at the edge of the boat. Fili sat down next to me, and leaned over.

"She'll come back to us, ya know, she always does." He patted my shoulder with a reassuring hand but sadness and anger erupted in me.

"She's never coming back." My voice was harsher than I had intended. "She's never coming back, Fee." My voice softened and I leaned into his shoulder. "And the worst part is that I never even got to tell her that I loved her." By now she was probably dead, or close to it. Whatever that filth did to her, I would bring a hundred times more pain to him. I promised myself that I would never stop hunting him.

"Now don't go on talking like that, don't start talking like she's dead and gone." This time he spoke loud enough so the whole company could hear. They looked up from their depressed state. "Nye is a strong, smart woman. And I know she won't go down without a fight." Fili was standing now, speaking to the whole company.

"But he's so much bigger than her Fee, how can she escape that?" I stood to join Fili, tears brimmed my eyes as I thought about what might happen.

"Did you see her against the trolls?" Fili's eyes shined with hope. "Brave and fearless she was. She jumped right on the back of one of them!" I watched as everyone perked up, their eyes also filling with the same hope. They nodded in agreement with Fili.

"And did you see her against the Goblin King?" Ori chimed in. "He tortured her for hours and she barely spoke a word!" More nods and murmurs of agreement sprung out. Fili turned to me and put both hands on my shoulders.

"I know she will come back, Kee. I just know it. It's just a matter of when." I nodded at him, tears still in my eyes. The bandage on my leg had been stained with the black ooze that was seeping from my leg. The pain was growing worse and worse with each passing hour and I wasn't sure just how far I would make it. Collapsing back on the ground, Fili knelt next to me, looking utterly confused and worried.

"There's a, um, slight problem." Balin interrupted. "We're 10 coins short." Everyone looked around at each other to see who the cheapskate was. Thorin marched over to the middle of the group, is eyes dancing all around us. Gloin was the only one staring at his toes, refusing to look up.

"Gloin, come on." Thorin said. "Give us what you've got."

"Don't look at me!" He argued loudly. "I have been bled dry by this venture! And what have I seen for my investment? Naught but misery and grief and-" He was interrupted by a looming figure in the distance. The Lonely Moutain. They all rose, awe struck by its majesty. To me, it was like a tomb. Knowing I was going in without ever finding Maude, was knowing I would die alone in that mountain.

"Bless my beard," Gloin finally said. "Take it, take all of it." He shoved his coin purse in Balin's hands.

"Quick, the money, give it to me." The bargeman interrupted our stares.

"Not until we get our provisions first." Thorin snapped. Bard stared at him.

"If you value your freedom, you'll do as I say. There are guards ahead."


	17. Sneaking Into Laketown

**Kili:**

We hid in the barrels while Bard was talking to a man on the dock. He was leaned in close, as to shield his conversation from the other fisherman around him.

"Shh! What's he doing?" Dwalin loudly whispered to Bilbo who was the only one besides me that could see. I felt the blood in my body trickling slower and slower through my veins, if I didn't find help soon I would most certainly face death. It seemed immature, but I was still refusing to go on without Nylelyth. I didn't mind death, only if it was how I was going to see her again. I leaned back in my barrel, trying my best to gather my strengths for what was to come.

"He's talking to someone." Bilbo whispered back, breaking me out of my thoughts. "Now he's shaking his hand!"

"What?" Thorin growled from the barrel behind me.

"That villain! He's selling us out!" Dwalin barked from behind Thorin. Before we could say anything else, pounds and pounds of fish came tumbling down on top of us, completely filling everyone's barrels. Covering my thigh as best as I could, the fish smacked the top of my head. I couldn't wait to be out of those stupid fish barrels.

* * *

**Bard**:

"Quiet!" I said, as one of the barrels made a groaning sound. "We are approaching the toll gate." Silence fell over all of them as we swung inside the gate.

"Halt! Goods inspection!" A voice called from the deck just inside the gate. "Oh it's you Bard." Percy the gatekeeper's voice relaxed at the sight of me. Being a bargeman meant I went in and out of these gates almost every day. I still couldn't believe that somehow I was convinced into helping these dwarves. My better judgment told me to let them find their own way, but my heart was telling me otherwise.

"Anything to declare?" Percy interrupted my thoughts.

"Nothing but I am cold, tired and ready for home." I handed him the papers and stood by as he went to stamp them.

"Not so fast." A voice rang from behind, snatching my papers from Percy's hand. Alfrid, the Master's footman, sent to do all his dirty work. He wasn't very pleasant to look at, his shoulders hunched forward making him look shorter than he really was. His eyebrows, or eyebrow, seemed to have no recollection that they should be separated and were joined in the middle. A feeble set of hairs rested on his upper lip forming what should be a mustache but fell short from being so.

"Consignment of empty barrels from the Woodland Realm. Only, they're not empty. Are they Bard?" Alfrid went on, his condescending eyes resting on my unmoving face. Alfrid didn't scare me, he was a coward. He tossed my papers to the wind and grabbed a fish from one of the barrels, I prayed that the dwarves were buried deeper under the fish.

"If I remember correctly, you registered as a bargeman, not a fisherman." He held the fish up to my face.

"That's none of your business." I snapped back, hardly missing a beat.

"Wrong." He argued. "It's the Master's business. Which makes it my business." Two guards came up behind Percy. That's when I knew, we were done for. "These fish are illegal."

"Come on Alfrid. These people need to eat!" I tried to persuade him.

"Empty the barrels over the side." He ordered his guards.

"Folk in this town are struggling. Times are hard. Food is scarce." I pleaded as the guards moved to empty the first barrel.

"That's not my problem." He replied.

"When the people hear that the Master is dumping fish back into the lake, when the rioting starts. Will it be your problem then?" I persuaded again. He glanced at me and then back at the barrels and the first one was just about to go over the side.

"Stop." He finally said. The guards put the barrel down and one shrugged his shoulders. As relieved as I was to get them through the gate, there was still getting the dwarves through the town.

"Ever the people's champion, eh Bard? Protector of the common folk?" Alfrid sneered. "You might have their favor now, bargeman, but it won't last."

"Raise the gates!" Percy yelled up to the gate operator. The gate slowly began to rise and I looked back at Alfrid.

"The Master has his eye on you. You'll do well to remember. We know where you live." He called to me as I went through the gate.

"It's a small town Alfrid, everyone knows where everyone lives." I smirked back to him, and disappeared around the corner. The only thing that I could think was Whew, that was close.

* * *

**Kili**:

Pushing my way to the top, I finally broke free from my fish prison. I saw Bard approach a man who was staring at all of the dwarves hopping out of the barrels. Fili came over and helped me hop out. Bard handed the man a gold coin and marched over to us, mumbling something that sounded like "follow me." The wound in my leg had made it impossible to walk without limping. As we rounded a corner, waiting for Bard to tell us it was clear, a boy came sprinting up to Bard.

"Da!" He loudly whispered to him. "Our house…it's being watched." Bard looked up in great concern and annoyance. He turned to us.

"Alright, here's the plan. You will all go around this way," he said as he pointed in a direction. "Bain and I will go to the front door. You will get in the water, and swim up to under the house. Once you get there, someone will knock once on the wall and you will climb up and into the house. Is that clear?" We all glanced around at each other. No one had any immediate quarrels, and Thorin nodded to Bard. He nodded back and went on with his son.

We rounded the corner where we were supposed to get in the water. Dwalin rolled his eyes but was the first one to get in, to help the others get in somewhat silently. Fili helped me in, and we were off. The cold water numbed my skin, making it harder to breathe. With every passing hour, my thigh had been getting worse, death was coming soon and I could feel it. I held on to Fili as we waited for the signal to climb up.

"Kee are you alright?" Fili's eyes were full of worry. My breath was short and rapid, I couldn't answer him without forfeiting breathing, so I stayed silent, closing my eyes to calm myself down. A loud knock came up from the house and Dwalin climbed up. I heard Dwalin say something that sounded like "You will not speak of this." As I got closer I realized we were climbing up through a toilet. Fili hoisted me up, and I used all my strength to keep myself up. We climbed up the stairs, my breath still rapid. Two girls stood at the top observing us with very confused faces.

"Da, why are there dwarves coming out of our toilet?" The older one questioned.

"Will they bring us luck?" The other chimed in. Fili sat me down in the chair closest to the fire. The two girls started passing out clothes and Fili graciously took both sets for us.

"Kee. You need help. Please let Oin take a look at your wound." He tried to persuade me. I kept staring into the fire, feeling my cold blood rush through my body, it was starting to hurt. Fili motioned for Oin to come over and started to remove my bandage. I cried out in pain as soon as he started remove it. Fili and Oin looked at each other with extremely worried eyes. They replaced my bandage, and Fili sat beside me.

"I wish I could've seen her again, Fee." I whispered, my throat dry and coarse.

"Don't start talking like that, Kee. She's alive, and you're going to stay alive. There is no way that I will let you die without me, by Mahal, I'd go to the ends of this Earth to save you Kee." He replied back.

"A dwarvish windlance." Thorin gasped as he stared out the window.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." Bilbo replied jokingly.

"He has." Balin replied for him. "The last time we saw such a weapon, the city was on fire. The day the dragon came." Everyone turned to listen to Balin tell the story, even Bard's family. "The day Smaug destroyed Dale. Girion, the lord of the city, rallied his bowman to fire upon the beast. But a dragon's hide is tough, tougher than the strongest armor. Only a black arrow, fired from a windlance could pierce its hide. His store was running low, as Girion made his last stand."

"Had the aim of men been true that day, much would have been different." Thorin growled. Bard stood tall next to his son.

"You speak as if you were there." Bard implied.

"All dwarves know the tale." Thorin snapped back.

"Then you would know that Girion hit the dragon. He loosened a scale under the left wing. One more shot and he would have killed the beast!" Bain interrupted.

"Ha! That's just a fairy story lad, nothing more." Dwalin laughed at the boy.

"You took our money." Thorin said to Bard. "Where are the weapons."

"Wait here." Bard went down the stairs. Fili and I rose to join the group next to Thorin. When he came back up, he was carrying a bag that was soaking wet. He set it on the table and opened it up. Weapons that looked like they had been crafted by children were the contents, and the company looked thoroughly disappointed.

"What is this?" Thorin snarled, holding one of the makeshift weapons up.

"A pikehook, made from an old harpoon." Bard answered.

"And this?" Fili held up another one.

"A crowbill, we call it, fashioned from a smithy's hammer. It's heavy in hand, I grant, but in defense of your life, these will serve you better than none." Bard replied.

"We paid you for weapons. Iron forged swords and axes!" Gloin interrupted, throwing his makeshift weapon back on the table.

"It's a joke!" Bofur did the same, a few nods and murmurs of agreement had everyone throwing their weapons back on the table. I gently set mine down on top.

"You won't find better outside the city armory. All iron forged weapons are held there under lock and key." Bard looked around, frustrated at us.

"Thorin," Balin leaned over to Thorin. Bard gave them a concerned look, as if he knew that name. "Why not take what has been given to us and go? I've made due with less and so have you. I say we leave now."

"No one is going anywhere." Bard interrupted.

"What did you say?" Dwalin threatened.

"There are spies watching this house, and probably every dock and wharf in this town. You must wait until nightfall." Bard replied before stepping outside, leaving us alone. I leaned up against a beam, making sure no one was looking, I looked down at my thigh. The black ooze had gotten worse and I could feel it.

The sun was setting, Thorin had ordered all of us to head to the armory. We were getting weapons one way or another. Bard hadn't returned and Bain had tried to stop us, but his attempts were futile. We made our way around the building, leading to the armory window. The only visible way of getting in. A pile of dwarves sat at the bottom, all on their hands and knees, ready to lift whoever jumped on them to the window. Once me, Fili, Thorin, Dwalin, Nori, and Gloin were successfully in the armory, everyone started to grab whatever they could find. Thorin started piling axes in my arms and I could feel my leg getting weaker and weaker.

"Can you manage?" Thorin asked me, concern clouded his eyes.

"Yeah let's just get out of here." I whispered, making my way over to the stairs. I just concentrated on making sure I hit each step. With the first step down on my good leg, I was in the clear. As soon as I put my weight on my bad leg, I started to tumble down the stairs. The weapons followed, making clashing and clanging that could be heard from across the town. I looked up at Thorin and Fili who were both standing at the top of the stairs. Now was the moment when I really wished I had been dead.


	18. Death Is So Close

**Kili**:

"What is the meaning of this?!" The Master barged out of a huge building at the center of the town. The townsfolk surrounded us as the guards pushed us forward to face the Master.

"We caught them stealing weapons sire." The Captain of the guard replied.

"Ah, enemies of the state then." The Master proposed through a crooked mustache. The Master was not a pretty sight to look at, along with his footman Alfrid. His hair was long, but the top of his head was completely bald, his solution was a really bad comb over.

"A bunch of mercenaries if I ever saw 'em sire." Alfrid hissed behind yellow teeth.

"Hold your tongue." Dwalin scolded them both. "You do not know to who you speak. This is no common criminal. This is Thorin. Son of Thrain. Son of Thror!" Dwalin shouted as he pulled Thorin from out behind us. Whispers and awes of amazment rang out in the crowd, and people craning their necks over each other to see Thorin. I was clutching my thigh, the fall in the armory had increased the pain by 10 and I wasn't sure how much longer I could take it. My blood was turning into daggers, my skin was like stone, and I felt my heart beating slower and slower.

"We are the dwarves of Erebor." Thorin finally spoke to the Master. He turned to the crowd. "We have come to reclaim our homeland. I remember this town and the great days of old. Fleets of boats lay at harbor, filled with silks and fine gems. This was no forsaken town on a lake! This was the center of all trade in the North. I would see those days return I would relight the great forges of the dwarves and send wealth and riches flowing once more from the halls of Erebor!" The crowd roared with cheers and excitement alike. The Master looked on over the cheering crowd and the dwarves. A voice from behind the crowd rang out.

"Death! That is what you will bring upon us. Dragon-fire and ruin. If you awaken that beast, it will destroy us all." Bard pushed his way through the crowd up to the group of dwarves.

"You can listen to this naysayer, but I promise you this; If we succeed, all will share in the wealth of the mountain. You will have enough gold to rebuild Esgaroth ten times over!" Thorin argued, and the uproaring of the crowd happened again. Thorin glared at Bard, a smirk cover his lips.

"All of you! Listen to me! Listen!" Bard calmed the crowd. "Have you forgotten what happened to Dale?" Immediately the crowd became silent and shook their heads in sadness. "Have you forgotten those who died in the firestorm? And for what purpose? The blind ambition of a mountain-king so riven by greed, he could not see past his own desire!" Bard stepped back and glared angrily at Thorin, who returned the same hospitality.

"Now, now, we must not, any of us, be too quick to lay blame. Let us not forget that it was Girion, Lord of Dale, your ancestor, who failed to kill the beast!" The Master shouted as he pointed to Bard.

"It's true sire. We all know the story." Alfrid pitched in. "Arrow after arrow he shot. Each one, missing its mark." The crowd screamed angrily at Bard, who before marching off turned to Thorin.

"You have no right to enter that mountain." He snapped.

"I have the only right." Thorin growled back. "I speak to the Master of the men of the Lake. Will you see the prophecy fulfilled? Will you share in the great wealth of our people?" The Master paused for a moment, contemplating.

"I saw unto you," He replied, pointing his finger at us. He paused again, then let out a huge smile. "Welcome! Welcome! Thrice welcome! King under the mountain!" He threw his arms up in welcome as we were led into the Master's home.

The night had consisted of celebration, breaking open the Master's finest brandy and only the grandest feast. We ate until we could barely stand. I retired to my room early, because of my wound. I insisted that the others stayed and celebrated, and that it was only right that they would celebrate. In my room, I collapsed on the mattress, my thigh getting worse and worse by what seemed like every second. I still didn't understand how I had made it this far. The pain was almost unbearable and it was spreading all over my body. I thought about how I would see Nye in the afterlife, how her hair would be wild and curly. How she would be wearing the cream colored dress that hugged her body in the best way. I remembered how she smiled, bright and beautiful like stars on a summer night. She would be waiting for me at the gates of the afterlife, we would journey together until the end of time. Without another thought, these pleasant visions had sent me right into an unconscious sleep.

I woke up with a jolt, well before anyone else in the company I could imagine. The sun had just risen and was shining bright through the window. A ceremonial set of armor had been laid out for me on the trunk at the end of the bed. Seeing no chance of falling back asleep, I decided to get dressed. Fili was in the mattress across the room from me, still looking completely drunk from the night before. I rolled my eyes and limped over to my new armor. It was definitely a little bit too big but I could manage. It was better than having no armor. As I removed my trousers, I noticed the hole in my leg was still oozing black, the veins around it going all the way up to my hip had turned black and were puffing out of my skin. Death was coming soon. I washed it out, to maybe lessen the swelling, but it did nothing but pain me. I rebandaged it and put on my new armor. Looking in the mirror for the first time in months, I didn't realize how awful I looked. My face had grown four times paler than it normally was. My eyes were sunken back into my skull, and bags upon bags rested under my eyes. I splashed some water on my face and limped over to Fili, to maybe wake him up from what felt like would be his eternal slumber.

"Fee." I shook his shoulder. "Fee wake up, it's time to get up." He rolled over to face me. As he opened his eyes, a loud gasp escaped his mouth. His eyes got wide and he stared at me.

"Kee!" He gasped again. "By Mahal, you look awful!"

"Thanks Fee. It's time for you to get dressed." I replied.

"You need Oin, right now." He went to get up, but I stopped him.

"I don't and I'm fine. Now get up." I stormed out of the room, which wasn't very fast.

"You do realize we're one dwarf short," Bilbo mentioned to all of us as we stood ready to board the boat out of Laketown. "Where's Bofur?" The whole town had gathered to see us off.

"If he's not here, we leave without him." Thorin ordered.

"We have to, if we are to find the doors before nightfall. We can risk no more delays." Balin justified Thorin's orders. As everyone got on the boat, I slowly took my first step in, but a hand on my chest stopped me.

"No not you." Thorin snarled. "We travel with speed. You will slow us down."

"What are you talking about?" I smiled at him, thinking he was playing some sort of trick on me. "I'm coming with you uncle."

"No, you're not." My heart sank in my chest. After this whole journey. All of the misadventures on this quest, and I wasn't even allowed to be there for what we were traveling for. I saw Fili turn towards me as he stood in the boat.

"I'm going with you." I stood my ground, standing taller to reach my Uncle's eyes. "I'm going to be there when the doors are opened, when we first look upon the halls of our fathers, Thorin."

"Kili stay here." His eyes grew soft, and felt genuinely concerned for my wellbeing. "Join us when you're healed." Of course I knew that going on with them was a suicidal journey, but the last thing I wanted to see was the halls of Erebor. And now, I wouldn't even be able to see that. Thorin turned to board the boat, and as quick as he noticed Oin hopped off with a smile.

"My duty lies with the wounded." He stated, standing next to me.

"Uncle," Fili argued with Thorin. "We grew up on tales of that mountain, tales YOU told us. You cannot take that away from him!" Oin started to examine me, but I pushed away, not wanting him to see the tears brimming on my eyes.

"Fili.." Thorin replied softly.

"I will carry him if I must!" Fili adamantly responded.

"Fili you will be king one day, and you will understand. I cannot risk the fate of this quest for one dwarf, not even my own kin." Staring Thorin down, Fili angrily stepped out of the boat to join Oin and I. "Fili do not be a fool. You belong with the company."

"I belong with my brother." Before anyone could say anything else, the musicians started to play their song and the boat was off, everyone waving farewell to what was left of the company of Thorin Oakenshield.

Someone had to carry me, as my legs were too weak to hold up any of my body weight. I leaned on Fili. We went around to almost every house in Laketown, but no one was willing to let in the sick dwarf. Finally, we had come to one conclusion. Bard. Bofur knocked on the door, and Bard angrily answered.

"Go away. I'm done with dwarves." He slammed the door, but before it could close Bofur got his hand in.

"No no no! Please! No one will help us. Kili is sick, very sick." Bofur turned to show Bard that I was leaning on Fili for strength. Reluctantly, he let us in.


	19. She Is Fire

**Fili**:

Kili's health had been falling in a downward spiral the moment we stepped into Bard's house. We laid him on the bed as Bard scoured his house for any sort of medicine that would help. Kili's face was paler than it was this morning, he looked like a writhing corpse. His screams became more and more unearthly as time went on. I focused on keeping him conscious and awake.

"Can you not do something!?" I yelled to Oin as Kili screamed louder over us.

"I need herbs! Something to bring down his fever!" Oin hastily replied as he continued to clean the wound as best he could.

"I have nightshade, feverfew…" Bard was rummaging through his medicine bag but was interrupted by a flustered Oin.

"They're no use to me. Do you have any Kingsfoil?" Kili's eyes were turning bright red around the brims, and were turning a milky white color.

"Kili, Kili!" I shouted, ignoring the conversations around me. Bard's oldest daughter, Sigrid, brought me another bowl of hot water for Kili's forehead. "Kee you have to stay with me."

"I-I love you, F-fee." He whispered between grunts of pain.

"I'm not leaving you, Kee." I held his hand closer to my face. "I'm not leaving you ever. I'm staying right here."

"We're losing him!" Oin yelled again. Kili was falling in and out of consciousness. I could feel my heart sinking into my chest. I prayed to Mahal that he would make it through this. A rumble sounded from the floor, Bard's family looked at each other in fear.

"Da?" Sigrid whispered, grabbing onto her father's coat with one hand.

"It's coming from the mountain." Bain returned from looking out the window.

"You should leave us. Take your family and go." I urged, still struggling to keep Kili with me.

"And go where? There is no where to go." His eyes hardened for a second.

"Are we going to die, da?" Tilda had squealed from below.

"No darling." He replied calmly.

"The dragon, it's going to kill us." She squeaked again.

"Not if I kill it first." Bard ripped a shining black pole from his ceiling, that was hidden by drying herbs. A black arrow. "Bain, follow me." Without another word, him and his son were out of the door, preparing to kill the dragon.

* * *

**Kili**:

White shores and beyond, far green countryside under a swift setting sun. I stood at the top of some stairs that lead down to the dock, and a large ship that awaited me. At the end of the dock stood a strangely familiar dwarf. His shoulder length blonde hair was tied back in traditional dwarven braids. Streaks of gray littered the blonde hair on his head. I slowly made my way down the steps, cautiously walking towards the figure. His lips curved upwards into a smile.

"Kili." He said, his smile growing wider.

"Father...?" I was in the middle of the dock by now, only feet away from him. Without another word, I sprinted in to reach him. He wrapped me in his arms and let out a hearty laugh. I squeezed my arms around his middle in a child like hug. "Are you here to lead me to Mahal's Gates? I think I'm ready, father."

"Kili." He said quietly.

"What of Nylelyth? Where is she? She was supposed to meet me at the ships? She was supposed to come with me!" Panic had set into my voice. My heart had this terrible sinking feeling.

"Kili!" Father had torn my attention away from my own thoughts. "She is a lady of the Valar, she will not be passing through the same gates as you, my son." Confusion plastered my face.

"But father..." He placed both hands on either of my shoulders.

"You are greatly needed by your Uncle, and the rest of the company. Mahal has given you a path and you must follow it." He paused for a moment, keeping his hands on my shoulders, and staring at me. "You have grown into a brave young warrior, Kili. You remind me so much of your mother."

"And Fili is the spitting image of you, father." His eyes gleamed as he leaned his forehead on mine. "I'm going to miss you, Father."

"And I, you." A faint voice called me from above, no words could be made out, but the harsh sounds of reality coming back to me. "Now go son. I will see you again when it is your time." He let go of my shoulders, and I reluctantly turned from him. The voice from above had gotten louder, and more clearly calling me back. I got to the top of the stairs, and turned to face him. He bowed his head, his smile still wide and cheeky, just like Fili's. I bowed my head slowly back at him, and everything around me faded to white, leaving me in an endless, colorless sea.

* * *

**Nylelyth**:

I barged through the door of the house. Finding Laketown had been the easy part, but finding the company had been the real challenge. Luckily enough for me, the pack of orcs was not quiet and the sound of their stomping feet had made it easier for me to find them. I slashed whatever orc filth that stood in front of me. An orc lunged at me, stepping aside to block it's blow, I jabbed my sword straight through it's back, killing it almost instantly. Fili was over in the corner fighting his own orc, wielding nothing but a piece of wood.

"Fili!" I screamed, throwing him my sword. Another one fell through the ceiling, landing only feet away from where Kili had been laying. I whipped out my bow, releasing an arrow that flew straight through the temple of the orc. Kili had fallen to the ground, clutching his leg in agony. Legolas and Tauriel came bounding into the house after me. Fili had finished his orc off, and came sprinting to Kili's side.

"We'll track down the rest of the pack." Tauriel nodded to me. I turned back down to Kili. His eyes were glazed over and looked almost dead. He was on the verge of death. The poison was close to taking over his body.

"Kee, stay with me. Look who's here! She's back" Fili started to tear up. All of the sudden, Bofur came sprinting into the house, clutching onto it in front of him, and looking utterly terrified.

"Etholas..." My heart clamored in my chest. I snatched the plant from Bofur's confused fingers.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Bofur argued with me.

"I'm going to save him. Get him on the table!" I commanded loudly. Oin, Fili, and Bofur lifted the shrieking Kili onto the table. "I need a bowl of water!" A mysterious hand shoved a bowl in my own, I was too panicked to ask or look to see who it was. "Hold him down, please." Kili was thrashing and writhing all over the place. They held his arms and legs down as I examined his wound, it was worse than I thought. I had minutes at most to save him. I ripped apart the Etholas, soaked it in the water and pressed it to his wound.

"Menno onin nahon ieliad annen annin." The voice that flowed through me did not sound like my own, but I did not dare stop, for Kili's writhing had slowed, as had his screams subsided. "Hon ongurth. Tulasinome armin." The dwarves and the two mysterious girls had stared at me, as the Elvish spell had flowed through me. I didn't care, as long as I knew I was saving Kili. His screams subsided completely, and he lay there, silent and unmoving.

I wrapped a new bandage around his leg, after he had fallen asleep. The color had slowly started to return to his cheeks, and he no longer looked like a moving corpse.

"Nylelyth.." An almost silent whisper came out from his mouth. I finished tying his bandage, and his eyes laid on mine.

"You must rest." I replied quietly, with a small smile.

"You cannot be her..." He continued, focusing his eyes on the ceiling."She is far, far away from me. She walks in starlight, in another world. She is the fire among the stars. She is the fire in the darkness of the night. She is fire... She is fire..." His eyes focused back on mine. "Do you think she could have loved me? Could she ever have loved me?"

"I believe she loves you very much." My words almost didn't come out.

"I wish I could have told her." His hand gently brushed mine, causing my cheeks to flush.

"You need to rest." I kissed the top of his forehead, placing his hand by his side. He closed his eyes delicately, and fell back asleep. I turned to place the bowl I had been using in the kitchen but Fil, Oin, and Bofur had been behind me, all wreathed with smiles and glances at each other.

"What?" I half whispered to not wake Kili up.

"Looks like I owe Fili 50 gold, you couldn't have waited until we got inside the mountain?" Bofur winked at me, his cheeky grin spreading across his face even wider.

"What did you bet on this time?" I made my way over towards the kitchen as I spoke.

"It was only a small bet, but me, Oin, Gloin, Bombur, Nori, and Dori had bet that you two would confess your love for each other inside the mountain." Bofur smiled.

"50 gold is hardly a small bet." I replied with my back turned to hide the uncontrollable smile on my lips.

"Well, thanks to you two love birds, I just got 50 coins richer." Fili thanked behind a huge smile. I turned around again, all of them still smiling and staring at me. Fili's eyes darted to the bruises on my neck. "Oin should probably take a look at you, before anything else." Fili said in all seriousness. I nodded and sat down in a chair next to the fire.

Oin had concluded that I had two broken ribs, a severely bruised trachea, and a strained diaphragm.

"With a lot of rest, you should be just fine, lass." He smiled behind his thick beard. I rested in the chair, utterly exhausted and unwilling to move. I had ridden for two days straight, and then took out most of a pack of orcs with Legolas and Tauriel. The other dwarves had moved on to the mountain, leaving what was left of the company behind, as Kili was way too sick to be traveling. Needless to say, after everything that happened, I couldn't wait for a nice bed and a hot meal. Staring into the flames, I thought about what Kili had said. Do you think she could have loved me? My heart was doing back flips in my chest, besides my cool composure. For months and months I had been fighting these feelings that had been making themselves all to known to me, and finally I knew that I would not have to fight them any longer.

"Thank you." A quiet voice sounded next to me. Fili leaned against the mantle of the fireplace. "I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't burst through the door. I would have lost my brother." I nodded slowly, staring into the flames, my heart still flipping. We stayed silent for a few moments, both engulfed in our own thoughts. "Nye, the elf, why is he after you?" His eyes grew concerned. I kept staring into the flames that licked the brick of the fireplace. Fili stared at me still.

"I am a descendant of the Valar." I finally replied, still gazing into the fire. This had caught the attention of everyone in the house, even the two girls who were off in the corner still shaken up from the orc attack. "Though only one half if we are being technical." They had gathered around me, their eyes intent on me.

"By Mahal..." Fili whispered.

"My powers stem back to the beginning of time, before any of us. Emeryn was a servant of the Dark Lord, Sauron."

"If you're so powerful, which I'm not saying you're not, but why not just blast the bugger off he face of Middle Earth?" Bofur asked, his grin not so cheeky anymore

"I wish it were that simple, Bofur." The two girls pulled up a chair across from me. "Being part mortal means I have my weaknesses. My ability to be controlled being one. My powers are not fully available to me until I cross into Aman, until then, I only have a limited amount." I paused to take a breath. "Emeryn was a servant of the Dark Lord, the Dark Lord who can no longer take a human form, but with someone else's body could he then rule Middle Earth. Emeryn was sent by Sauron to bring me to him. At first, he had put out a reward. I had only heard about it the night they came for me. My mother had heard a month before. They murdered my mother, and did terrible, terrible things to me. I had only been traveling for two days before Kili found me, starving and paranoid, just waiting for those men to find me, even though I had forgotten everything. In Rivendell, he had come himself, trying to seduce me away. In Mirkwood he used force, knowing that if he had hurt one of you, that I would surrender myself." A reassuring hand laid on my shoulder, as tears threatened to spill over. Moaning and shuffling came from the table. The reassuring hand left my shoulder and sprinted to his waking brother.

* * *

**Kili**:

When I woke up, everything was extremely fuzzy. I was sprawled out on a table, my head resting on a bowl of walnuts, it was like waking up after a long night with too much ale. The aching pain in my leg was almost gone, and it felt like only a scratch. I groaned and began to sit up. Before I could even open my eyes, strong arms wrapped around me. Fili had sniffled away the tears in his eyes, and I squeezed his harder than I ever could've thought.

"We thought we had lost you." He whispered, a small smile on his lips.

"I told you it was nothing to worry about!" I released him from my bear hug, Oin and Bofur stood behind him, both smiling and tearing up at the scene. A dark looming figure stood in the darkness behind them, with a familiar piercing stare. As she stepped out of the shadows, the figure became all too familiar to me.

"Kili..." The familiar voice sounded, slow and sweet. It couldn't possibly be her. Father had told me, she passed through different gates long ago. I had seen her in a dream, she was surrounded by white. Her dark hair and olive skin complimented by the white back ground. Footsteps sprinted towards me, tearing my thoughts away from my dream. Time seemed to move in slow motion. She wrapped her arms around my neck, her warmth had filled me. It was her, she was alive. I melted into her, my arms around her waist. The room had stopped, no one in it but us two, our clamoring hearts beating together. Breathing in her scent, honey and fresh flowers, just as I remembered.

"Nylelyth..." I finally whispered, my hand on the nape of her neck, pressing her into me. She pulled away, her contagious grin from ear to ear had spread to me. My eyes snapped to her neck, where blue and purple bruises in the shapes of hands wrapped around her neck. I traced them lightly with my fingers.

"Did he...?" Her slight nod had sent me over the edge, my rage uncontrollable. My hands gripped the edge of the table and my knuckles turned paper white. "I'm going to kill him." I replied between gritted teeth.

"You don't have to worry about it, Kili." She replied, her eyes filled with tranquility.

"Look what he did to you! Who in their right mind wouldn't worry?" My anger filled me.

"Kili" She said louder than me. "You don't have to worry, because I've taken care of it."

"Taken care of it?" Fili asked behind me, looking back at Bofur and Oin who both shrugged their shoulders.

"We don't have to worry about Emeryn any more." She laid her hand on my white knuckle. Everyone stared at her in confusion. Silence fell over us for a few moments.

"You sure are full of surprises." Bofur broke the silence from behind us, breaking us from out pause of amazement.


	20. Death Has Come

**Bilbo**:

Thorin had sent me down into the treasure room with no other instructions except find the Arkenstone. In my hunt for the stone, I had awoken the dragon. As I ran up the stairs as fast as my feet would take me, the dragon fire streamed behind me, barely nicking my heels. The ground vibrated as Smaug angrily tore around the mountains of gold, causing avalanche upon avalanche. I had gotten half way up the open corridor when a familiar face rounded the corner.

"You're alive!" Relief had filled Thorin's eyes as I stopped next to the opening of a staircase.

"Not for much longer!" I gasped between breaths.

"Did you find the Arkenstone?" His eyes fixed on the gold behind me as he spoke.

"The dragon is coming!" I tried to run past him, but his arm caught me. With a swift movement he drew his sword, his eyes boring into mine

"The Arkenstone. Did you find it?" He pressed the sword against my chest. Greed filled his eyes, anger in his voice. Something had changed in those few seconds. I am almost tempted to let you have it. If only to see Oakenshield suffer. Smaug's voice rang in my head.

"No, we have to get out!" I tried to push his sword down, but he brought it right back up to my neck. His face was now steel, no emotions or anything of the sort showed. "Thorin. Thorin?" I gazed at him in fear. We would die if we did not move soon. Thorin's eyes shifted to the mountain of gold, the dragon crawled over it, noticing Thorin and I immediately. A snarl escaped his lips and Thorin sneered. All of the sudden, the company came crashing down the stairs, their weapons drawn to defeat the dragon.

"You will burn!" Smaug's booming voice almost knocked us off our feet as he sprinted over, his wings spread, and chest burning like the embers of a fire. Just as the fire spilled over the platform we were standing on, we leaped onto the other side, cascading down the gold into a smaller room. The fire rolled over Thorin's back, catching his coat on fire. He collapsed to the ground, rolling to put out the fire. He immediately popped up.

"Come on." He lead us into the next room. As we reached an open bridge on the other side, the coast seemed to be clear, no sight or sound of a live dragon.

"We've given him the slip." Dori whispered from behind me.

"No, he's too cunning for that." Dwalin's hushed tone sounded from in front of me.

"Where to now?" We stood on the foot of a bridge, each side leading into a deep chasm, that seemed to go on for miles.

"The western guardroom. There may be a way out." Thorin replied over his shoulder to us.

"It's too high, there's no chance that way." Balin argued.

"It's our only chance. We have to try." Thorin motioned to us to follow him. We tiptoed along the bridge in utter silence. Out of no where, a small ringing sound echoed throughout the entirety of the chasm. A coin had fallen, I checked my pockets and sleeves for other misplaced coins. Another ring, that echoed throughout, came crashing down. Everyone's eyes slowly made their way to the dragon slithering it's way above us. Silently, Thorin motioned for us to keep moving forward. When we got to the corridor that was on the other side, we came to a full sprint. Entering the western guardroom, the piles of rotted bodies, covered in cobwebs littered the floor. The door way across from us had caved in, leaving no escape for anyone. Was there no way out of this accursed mountain?

"The last of our kin. They must've come here hoping beyond hope." Balin said solemnly, his face matching his tone. "We could try to reach the mines. We might last a few days." Everyone's eyes fell upon the bodies that laid before us. All of them, gray and rotted, their faces eerily peaceful as if they were sleeping.

"No. I will not die like this. Cowering, clawing for breath. We make for the forges." Thorin's grip on his sword had grown so tight that the whites of his knuckles showed.

"He will see us. Sure as death." Dwalin stepped forward.

"Not if we split up." Thorin replied, his grip lessening.

"Thorin, we'll never make it." Balin stepped closer to him.

"Some of us might. Lead him to the forges. We kill the dragon today. If this is to end in fire, we shall all burn together."

* * *

**Nylelyth**:

"We don't have any time!" I shouted to everyone in the house, the ground vibrated. The dragon would come soon, I could feel it. "We must leave now!"

"We're not leaving without our father!" The boy, Bain, shouted. He had come earlier, returning with the news that his father had been captured by the guards.

"You cannot stay." I came in to finish packing a bag of food. "If you stay, you and your sisters will die a terrible death. Is that what your father would have wanted?" He slowly shook his head as I handed him the bag. I went to stand at the door again, a dark mass loomed above the mountain, getting closer and closer to the town. "We need to leave-NOW!" I rushed back into the house, pulling Sigrid and Tilda with me down to the dock below their home. Fili, Kili, Oin, and Bofur followed with Bain. A crash of wind sent my hair flying in all directions. The dragon had come. Fire spewing out from the black mass with a glowing red chest, set everything in it's path ablaze. I pushed the boat from the dock as Fili and Bofur rowed behind us. The dragon swooped down again, lighting a pathway of fire two docks over from us. We maneuvered through the water, making our way beneath and between burning homes and trying our best not to get seriously burned. The flames around us caused me to start sweating, my brow dripping. Coming to a stop underneath some docks that were the only building not on fire, the smoke whirled around us, making it almost impossible to see. The dragon swooped around again, bringing the powerful wind that almost knocked me off my feet. I nodded back to Fili and Bofur to signify the coast was as clear as it was gonna get, they rowed us out into the open canal. Out of nowhere, a huge barge, carrying piles upon piles of gold, came barreling through almost knocking our boat over. I jumped back to catch Bain as he almost toppled over the side.

"Move it! Come on! Faster!" The Master of the town shrieked as he commanded his guards. I sneered as he went by us, knowing that his selfishness would get hundreds killed. The screaming, the crackling of the wood burning with such intense heat, the swooping of the dragon was something out of a nightmare. Smaug was playing cat and mouse with the town, swirling and swooping all over the place to instill fear into us, only to light the whole town ablaze. We turned a corner to reveal the bell tower at the center of the town. A dark figure, holding a long bow and launching arrows at the dragon, stepped to each side of the tower.

"Da!" Bain shouted.

"Da! Da!" Sigrid and Tilda followed, though their screams could not be heard by him.

"He hit it! He hit the dragon! I saw the arrow hit it's mark!" Kili yelled, his voice filled with hope. Smiles had spread across everyone, a glimmer of hope in the desolation.

"The arrows cannot pierce it's hide. I fear nothing will." Killing any hope they had that Bard would kill the dragon, Fili and Bofur rowed on. Bain abruptly latched on to a hanging rope above us, swinging himself onto a dock.

"Bain!" Sigrid shrieked, reaching out for him, but never letting go of Tilda. "Bain!" He glanced back at us, only to turn back and run down the dock towards the bell tower.

"We cannot follow him!" Fili shouted, still rowing. "We would surely die!" Sigrid's face had gone pale, Tilda had tears streaming down her cheeks. Without another thought, I knew what I had to do. My conscious wouldn't allow me to let these two girls lose everything they have, just as I had. I grabbed onto the bridge we were passing under, hoisting myself up on top.

"Nye! Nye!" Kili yelled, his voice panicked. "Don't leave us! Nylelyth no!" His voice faded off as I 'ran after Bain. The smoke had accumulated so much that I could hardly see in front of me.

"Bain! Bain! Where are you?" I screamed between coughs. A faint shadow could be seen through the smoke. "Bain!" I sprinted in that direction, covering my face. As I got closer to him I noticed he was holding a long black pole that came to a twist at the end. It was a giant arrow, strong enough to pierce a dragon.

"I'm not asking you to come with me." He shouted over the swooping of the dragon.

"I'm not leaving you to die, if there is a way to stop the dragon, and stop all this death, I will do it no matter the cost." He nodded and sprinted off towards the bell tower, I followed him without hesitation. The burning rubble littered the ground making our journey excruciatingly long, the bodies that were scattered around the remaining docks were all burnt till they were unrecognizable. The nameless faces that fell, now only to be remembered by their burnt bodies, had been scarring. I knew I would never forget the sight of mothers cradling their dead children, husbands mourning over their dead wives, only to be swept away by the same dragon fire. We came up to the bottom of the bell tower, Bard releasing arrows at the top.

"I'm going to give my father the Black Arrow, can you distract the dragon somehow?" Bain asked, his eyes swelling with courage. I nodded in return, wondering how I could ever manage to distract the huge beast. Watching Bain climb to the top of the tower, I formed my plan. If I could get the dragon to look any where but the bell tower, I could give them enough time to kill it. I sprinted to the building that was in front of the bell tower, the only one that was not up in roaring flames, watching for the glowing ember chest. Out of what seemed like thin air, the dragon appeared, crashing into the top of the bell tower.

"NO!" I wailed, my heart crashing in my chest, without the Bard or Bain, there would be no way to defeat the beast. Landing across the way from me, the buildings crumbled below the dragon, threatening to fall with every shift of his weight.

"Who are you to stand against me?" The roaring voice sounded over all of us, leaving an echo that reverberated throughout the town. There was movement on the tower, Bard was alive. Now was my only chance. The power surged through me, my heart clamored, my hands high in the air.

"Russe tuulo' moriloomir!" My voice didn't sound my own, the balls of light shot out of my hands, colliding into the face of the dragon. He looked to me and snarled, a single tooth of his was taller than I stood.

"I see we have someone magical over here." He snickered slightly at his own words, and shifted his body to face me. Bard and his son rustled on top of the tower, readying whatever bow and arrow they had left. The pulsations that waved through me began to lessen. A few more moments was all I could spare. My hands fell back down to my sides as clenched fists.

"You are slower than I was warned!" I screamed as I sprinted more towards the top of the roof. "I was warned that a fierce and powerful dragon was about, and I see the warning was mistaken!" His eyes narrowed as he looked closer at me, ignoring the two men completely. I climbed on the top of the chimney to look closer into the dragon's eyes.

"And who are you, to insult me?" He roared, throwing his head back. "I am more powerful than you could ever be, you conjurer of cheap magic!"

"I am no traveling magician!" I shrieked back at him, trying not to get too flustered over his words. "I am a descendant of the Valar, I am more powerful than you could ever dream to be!" I pointed a condescending finger at him.

"Not just a conjurer of cheap magic, but a liar as well." He leaned in closer to me. "You will die like the rest, no matter where you come from!" He rose his head as if he was readying himself to swallow me whole.

"Hey!" I heard from the top of the tower. "You answer to me!" Bard hollered at the dragon, leaning the black arrow on Bain's shoulder.

"Is that your child?" Smaug turned his attention to them. "You cannot save him from the fire, or your cheap magician. They will BURN!" He let out a roaring laugh. "How shall you now challenge me? You have nothing but your DEATH!" Smaug charged the bell tower, knocking over the house I stood on in the process. I fell, sights of whirring flames and burning buildings all around me. I don't know how far I fell until I reached the coldness that enveloped me at the bottom, colder and colder until all I saw was a blackness that swallowed me whole.


	21. The Darkness Of Erebor

**Kili**:

Standing on the bare shoreline, my eyes scanned the wreckage of the town. Smaug may have landed at the bottom of the lake but his havoc remained all to well at the surface. Those who were mostly uninjured took to pulling those who couldn't get themselves up to the bank. Bodies had floated along with the wood onto the shore, all burnt to a crisp. Sigrid and Tilda followed behind me, screaming for their brother and father. I would not let my hope faulter in finding Nylelyth, not this time. Fili and Bofur helped people get out of the water while Oin did what he could to heal those who needed it. I scanned the water again, nothing. She had run off in the midst of the dragon attack to find Bain, and that was the last I had seen of her. I had begged Fili to let me go after her, even tried to jump in the water to swim for her, but they had caught me before I could. I now stood, my hope only hanging by a thread, searching for her.

"NYLELYTH!" I called out, cupping my hands around my mouth. There was little chance she could hear me over the commotion of the shore, but it was worth a shot.

"Kili!" A panicked voice cried behind me. Fili and Bofur pulled a body out of the lake, her lips almost blue. I sprinted over, practically ripping my jacket off to maybe conceal some of her warmth. Nylelyth lay in Fili's arms, barely breathing but alive.

"Nye, Nye! Wake up, oh Mahal, please wake up!" I wrapped my arms underneath her and pulled her closer to me. "Oin, get over here quick! She's barely breathing!" The her wet hair clung to her face tighter than her wet clothes hugged her body. If we didn't do something soon, she would certainly die.

"We need to get the water out of her lungs." Oin came over and held her head in his hands. "Kili, squeeze her nose and blow into her mouth." Without another thought, I did as he said. I pulled away and she did nothing, no reaction or anything.

"Oin! It's not working!" Fili yelled, obviously panicked.

"Do it again, gently." He ordered in a calm voice. I followed his orders and immediately after I pulled away she gasped and spit up what seemed like half of the lake. She wheezed as all she rolled back over into my arms.  
"Kili?" She whispered, her face slightly pained.  
"Yes darling, it's me." I held her as tight as I could against my chest.  
"Kili," She wheezed out again. "You're crushing me." A round of laughs sounded as I released her slightly, but never let go.

* * *

**Nylelyth**:  
They had pulled me out of the water and a breath of life help me regain my consciousness. With no idea if the dragon had been killed or not, Kili had held me as close to his chest as possible without squeezing all of the life I had left out of me. My dealings with Smaug had left a nasty burn on my right thigh, but the rest of me was just tired and ready to dry off.

"Where is Bain? Where are him and his father?" The question had left them all speechless.

"After the two of you ran off to fight the dragon alone, we lost track of you. We didn't see either of you until now." Kili replied. Just as he finished his sentence Sigrid and Tilda's voices screamed.

"DA!" They both ran into his arms, as he held them tighter than Kili had clung to me. For a moment, we were all silent. Watching the family reunite, even after such circumstances, was refreshing. Bard released his children, looking over at me laying on the ground in a pitiful state.

"You," His baritone voice rang out over all of us, making me shift uncomfortably, sounding some what angry. He marched over to me, his children following him like ducklings. "Who are you?"

"My name is Nylelyth." I tried my best to sit up, but the pain in my lungs had made it difficult.

"Where did you get such magic? I have never seen anyone with that sort." He replied, bending down to get closer to me.

"I was born with it, sir." I sheepishly answered. Looking down into the dirt.

"No need to call me sir, Nylelyth. I am in a great debt to you. Without your magic, Bain and I would have been dead." He bowed his head and held out his hand. "My name is Bard." I shook his hand as he let out a gentle smile.

"So, I'm assuming we killed the dragon?" A round of laughs came out as I asked.

* * *

Oin had given me a salve to put on my burn, and I was back on my feet, barely. The journey to the mountain was to be painstakingly slow, but the dwarves had refused to leave me behind. We readied what there was left of our things and prepared to march on the looming mountain in the distance. Bard came to see us off in respect to saving his daughters.

"What is to happen of Laketown?" I asked him, his children still lingering by his side.

"I am not sure, we will have to find shelter." His eyes scanned to all those gathering their things as well. "We don't have enough food to last the winter."

"If you go to the city of Dale, I am sure Thorin will help you." I replied, hoping I was correct. Thorin had been a man of his word, from what I had seen and I hoped that I had not mislead Bard.

"Thank you. Now you must be off. Join the rest of your company." Bard said, shooing me towards the dwarves. I smiled back at him, and turned to join Kili. The burn on my leg had made moving a little more difficult than normal. After that moment, I decided I didn't like fire anymore.  
The rough terrain had been difficult enough alone without an injury. But the dwarves had kept the pace slow and steady enough for me to keep up.

"So." Kili had waited until we were alone to say. "I had a dream."

"Most people have those." I replied quite snarky, but with a smile.

"It wasn't just any dream." He stated, his smile fading. "My father was there, and he said something about you." My brow furrowed as he talked. His father? Talking about me? I knew little to nothing about his father other than the fact he had died when Fili and Kili were just boys.

"What did he say?" I asked, trying not to sound concerned. It's not a good thing when a dead relative comes into your dreams to tell you about someone.

"He told me you were a 'Lady of the Valar'." He went on, not looking at me until the very end. "What do you suppose that means?"

"Because I'm a descendant of the Valar." I didn't dare look at him, fear and embarrassment shook me.

"What?" He stopped dead in his tracks. I stopped a few steps ahead of him and nodded. "You mean to tell me, that someone in your family is part of the Valar?"

"My father." We continued walking, his mouth still wide open in shock.

"How did he meet your mother? I mean, it's not very often that the Valar come down to visit."

"I don't know how they met, my mother never told me that. My father was never around to tell me that either. So it will remain a mystery to the both of us, I guess." We lagged behind the rest of the dwarves.

"By Mahal..." He whispered, shaking his head in still disbelief. We came to a stop with the rest of the dwarves at the top of the hill that overlooked the city of Dale, and upon the mountain.

"We're almost there!" Bofur excitedly shouted. But a moment later he noticed the front gates had been smashed open, leaving us little hope that anyone was alive in that mountain.

"We need to keep moving." Fili replied coldly. The landscape before us was utterly barren, nothing but rocks and short grass as far as the eye could see. We rushed towards the entrance of the mountain as fast as we could.

* * *

"Hello?!" Bofur shouted into the darkness that was Erebor. The once grand kingdom was now silent and dark, and with eery feeling walking in. His voice echoed around the halls. "Bifur? Bombur?" Still no reply. Fili nodded for us to go deeper into the mountain. We wandered about, none of us knowing where we were going and all of us slowly losing hope.

"Bilbo?" I yelled. We had gone far enough into the mountain to be in the main entrance, four staircases in each corner of the room all led in different directions.

"Where could they be?" Kili asked from the back of the group.

"This mountain is huge laddie, they could be any where." Oin answered, gazing around at the entrance hall.

"Thorin is probably looking for the Arkenstone, where is the treasure room?" Fili asked Oin, the only one who knew the mountain at all.

"This way." He led us through a hallway and into an even larger room. The prescence of Smaug was still eminent even though he was defeated. The rubble of his destruction still lay in disarray about the room. "This was the old market place, the throne room and treasure hall is on the other side." We sprinted to the other side of the market, all continuously screaming for the other half of the company. A small pitter patter of footsteps, not coming from us, sounded from the hallway leading to the throne room. Descending the stairs down to where the others probably were, a voice called up to us.

"Wait! Wait!" Bilbo came tumbling up the stairs. "Stop! Stop! Stop! We need to leave, we all need to leave."

"You're alive!" I pulled Bilbo in a tight embrace. "I have never been so happy to see a hobbit in all of my life!"

"We need to leave now." He commanded, pulling away from me.

"We only just got here?" Bofur argued from behind me.

"I have tried talking to him, but he doesn't listen." Bilbo started. Fear had risen in me, I had a feeling about who he was talking about. "He doesn't sleep, and barely eats. He's been down there for days, always whispering to himself. He hasn't been himself since we got here."

"Who laddie?" Oin questioned him.

"He's talking about Thorin." My grim gaze fell upon Bilbo as he nodded solemnly.

"It's this place, a sickness lies upon it." Bilbo continued.

"A sickness? What type of sickness?" Kili pushed up to stand beside me.

"One that only effects it's king." I replied, my heart sinking in my chest. I had hoped beyond measure that Thorin would be stronger than his grandfather. Out of no where, Fili went barreling down the steps, deeper into the mountain. As we entered the doorway to the treasure room, the walls sparkled from the reflection of the gold. The piles upon piles of treasure filled the entire room, almost touching the ceiling in some areas. A figure stepped out onto the platform below us that also overlooked the treasure.

"Gold, gold beyond measure. Beyond sorrow and grief." Thorin muttered in a barely audible voice. "Behold, the great treasure hoard of Thror. Welcome, my sister's sons, to the kingdom of Erebor." At his last words, Thorin launched a fist sized ruby up at us, which landed softly in Fili's hands. His gaze was hard on us, staring deep into all of us. The way he looked at the gold, and back at me, was not a good look.


	22. Name Game

**Nylelyth**:

"No one not rest until we find it!" Thorin roared from the viewing platform above the treasure. We had been awoken that morning by an extremely flustered Thorin ordering us to find the stone within the mountains of treasure.

"It's not here!" Nori's voice called from behind a pile of gold.

"Not here!" A range of different voices came out from all around the room.

"Thorin!" I yelled up to the platform. "This treasure, let alone this room is huge, there is no way we can find the Arkenstone today." His glare shifted to me. His eyes pierced me from underneath thick brows, finding their way deep into my core. He said nothing as he turned away. I brushed my hair back in frustration, chewing on my lip. Rushing out of the huge treasure room and into the hallway, I decided I had enough of the dwarves for that day. The city of Erebor was huge, twists and turns that led to all sorts of rooms and halls that were all empty. Collapsing on the floor of the first room I could find, I let all the feelings over take me. A little scuttle next to my ear had caught my attention, tearing myself away from my feelings. A small brown mouse, stood on all fours staring at me. My sudden movement had sent him running back to his tiny house in the wall.

"It seems we are not the only life to return to Erebor." I whispered to myself. I followed the pitter patter of the mouse's tiny feet, exploring where his house hole could possibly be. A small crack in the wall, hollowed out to however far, in the corner of the room. It was deliberately carved as if someone was housing this mouse family as roommates.

"I see you're exploring every corner of Erebor." A strong voice interrupted my investigation. My head snapped up to find Kili leaning in the doorway, a smirk on his lips. "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" My reply was unintentionally cold.

"My Uncle, he is not himself anymore." He replied with sincerity in his eyes. An angry yelling interrupted us.

"I am your king! You will follow my orders!" Echoed throughout the halls, rattling even into my bones. Thorin was truly not himself.

"Kili, I'm worried about him." I said, quietly moving towards the doorway. "He is obsessed."

"I am too, Nye." Kili replied, looking down at his toes. My mind traced back to Thorin staring at me coldly, his eyes full of anger and confusion. "I am too."

* * *

"And then BOOM! The house came crashing down right next to us!" The company sat around Fili and Kili like children as they retold the story of Smaug destroying Laketown-with a few of their own added embelishments. I sat on the outskirts of the room that we had set up as our campsite. Although quite a large room, it seemed to shrink once everyone was wandering about inside. Bofur handed out bowls of stew to everyone.

"By this time Nye was long gone, and so was the boy. She disappeared behind the smoke." Kili commented, staring at me as he spoke. "I tried to go after her, but Fili wouldn't let me."

"I wasn't about to let him make another daft decision, besides, she's a strong girl, she can handle herself." Fili replied, by now most of the company had been staring at me but my eyes rested on the pair of brothers.

"How did you make it out?" Thorin's voice rushed over us, no one had been expecting him to make an appearance. Thorin rarely left the treasure room, and when he did he barely spoke to anyone. His eyes bore into mine intensely, making me shift on my seat uncomfortably.

"It was really Bard who killed the dragon, I was just a distraction." I replied, looking any where but Thorin.

"You mean he used you as bait?" Kili's angry voice rang out.

"I told him I would distract the dragon and I did. We'd all be at the bottom of the lake by now if I hadn't." I stood while I angrily responded. Silence hoarded over us as I slowly sat back down on the ledge. Thorin's eyes bore into me still, but I ignored it. The night went on as normal as it could have, Thorin returned to his treasure room without another word, and the rest if us ate and talked and then headed for bed. Plagued by uneasiness by Thorin, my night was compiled of tossing and turning and wishing I could sleep. Eventually, all hope of sleep was lost and I made my way to explore the halls. Bringing what candle I could find, I set out in search of anything. This mountain was huge and even just looking around could probably get you lost for days. Everyone lay in their beds, fast asleep. Fili and Kili's bed rolls were both empty. Furrowing my brow, I moved onward out the doorway, maybe I would happen across them. The halls were dank and musty, the moisture seeped through my tunic and my trousers. Muffled voices at the end of the hallway could be heard. A faint glow of fire light from the doorway reflected on the wall. As I got closer, the voices became louder and more disgruntled.

"Uncle, stop being ridiculous." Fili's voice could be heard. Curiousity had over taken me, I stood behind the doorway, just close enough to hear what was going on.

"I'm not." Thorin's gravelly voice snapped back at him. "There is something wrong with her."

"Uncle, you're just imagining things! She's barely spoken to you." Kili's voice chimed in.

"I have seen the way she looks at me." Thorin replied. His voice growing harsher. "I do not trust her any more than I trusted her before. She abandoned us, she is not honorable. Not anymore at least."

"Uncle, what in Mahal's name are you talking about?" Fili piped up again. "She has done nothing of the sort to be dishonorable." My heart felt like it was going to fall out of my chest. That's why Thorin had been so strange towards me.

"I want her gone." Thorin said, his cold voice had pierced me even through the stone walls. "Or I will do it myself."

"Uncle, you're not yourself. You need to rest." Kili replied, obvious pain in his voice. Tears had begun to fill my eyes.

"Get out." Thorin growled. "Get out both of you!" Before Fili and Kili came out the doorway, I sprinted off, hoping to get lost in the tunnels of Erebor.

* * *

It had been some time since I had seen any of the company. After hearing what Thorin said about me, I didn't want to see any one of them. I had found a room far enough away from everyone that I could get some much needed quiet. I didn't know how much longer I could have dealt with Gloin's snoring. Thorin's voice rattled in my head. She abandoned us, she is not honorable. When had I abandoned them? The only real explanation for that would be when I ran off with Emeryn to save Kili's life. Out of everyone, I would have believed that Thorin would have thought that honorable. Wiping the tears from my face, I decided it was time to confront Thorin. Making my way to the hallway, I placed one hand on the wall to guide me. The halls were almost pitch black, and I was barely able to see past my nose. Finding the company would be a challenge. With the coldness disappearing, and warmth over taking me the further I moved, I knew I was in the right direction. The crackle of the small fire they had in the room had become louder and more prevalent. The soft reflection of the gold had shone upon the wall. The treasure room. Thorin was in there, pacing around his gold probably, murmuring about how dishonorable I was. I marched in the doorway, holding my head higher than my pattering heart.

"Thorin?" He was no where to be found as I entered. I stepped further into the room. It was basically a platform that looked over the mountains of gold. Footsteps pounded up the stairs that leaded up from the treasure. Thorin's face peered over the railing, looking at me in confusion.

"What do you want?" He sneered. My heart sank in my chest even more than it had, but I kept my head high.

"I came to confront you about what you said early." I replied with a shaky voice.

"And what is it I'm supposed to have said." He led himself to the table in the middle of the room. His crown and cloak made him look like a child playing dress up, both were much too grand for just sulking about his treasure.

"Why is it you want me to leave?"

"That was a private conversation." He pressed his fist down on the table.

"Why do you want me gone." My voice was harsher than I had intended and I chewed on my lower lip in anticipation of his answer.

"You have no recollection, do you?" He replied surprisingly calm.

"Recollection of what?" My brain was running through all the possibilities of recollections I could have. He turned to me, his eyes were soft, softer than I had ever seen them.

"You left me." His desperate voice washed over me.

"Left you?" I backed up slightly towards the door, this was beginning to be strange. He made his way over to me, grabbing both my hands. Leaning into me, he whispered lovingly into my ear.

"Malkyr..."


	23. The Jewels Among Erebor

**Nylelyth**:

"Malkyr..." He whispered again, his hands wrapped around me as he pulled me closer.

"What?!" I ripped myself out of his grip. My voice was shaky and plastered with confusion.

"How I have missed you." He took a step closer, his eyes brimming with nothing but love, something I had never seen out of him.

"That's not my name..." He took another step closer to me.

"I don't know why you left." He whispered, obviously pained. "But I am glad you came back." He stepped closer in to kiss me, but I jumped back in fear.

"Thorin, I am not my mother!" My back was against the wall now. My heart pounded in my chest. His eyes went ice cold, and he sneered as he looked at me.

"I knew you would do this. You abandoned us, for that faithless worm!" He was yelling by now, pointing his thick finger in my face. Then, his voice withered to a pained whisper. "How could you do that to me?" He grasped my hand with his, laying a soft kiss on it.

"Uncle?" I heard from the doorway. Fili had walked in on the midst of Thorin pressing me up against the wall. "What are you doing?" Thorin slowly turned away, only breaking eye contact at the last second.

"This business does not concern you, Fili." Was all he said. I slipped out from between him and the wall and practically sprinted away. I didn't dare look Fili in the eye, what he had seen did not look good, not good at all. I power walked down the hallway back to my bed, hoping that this would not come back up to bite either Thorin or I.

* * *

We had been sitting in the living room, which is what we had taken to calling the room we had been staying in. Thorin's shouts could have been heard from the other side of the mountain.

"EVERYONE TO THE GATE." He roared, we knew this could not have been good. We filed out of the room, wondering what could possibly had set him off. The night before had been pushed to the back of my mind, but would resurface occasionally. I had hoped Fili didn't get the wrong impression, I had hoped he would hear me out. Across the way, the small figures were streaming into the abandoned city of Dale, the survivors of Laketown.

"I want this fortress safe by sun up. This mountain was won, I will not see it taken again." Thorin began to walk away, but a defensive voice stopped him.

"The people of Laketown have nothing, they have come to us in need. They have lost everything!" Kili stepped out of the crowd beside me. Thorin looked back at his younger nephew, annoyed at his outburst.

"Do not tell me what they have lost. I know well of their hardship, those who have survived dragon fire should rejoice! They have much to be grateful for!" His last words sounded almost comedic. "More stone to the gate!" Everyone started to gather the stone to wall up the broken gate. A firm hand rested on my shoulder. "Come with me." Thorin's voice was slow, but it was filled with no less anger than before. Hesitantly I followed him, looking behind me, only to find Fili and Kili staring at me. Fili with discontent and Kili with confusion.

"Thorin, I don't think we should go very far from the others. I-I need to help with the gate." I stated, trying to get him to stop walking.

"You do not need to be working, my dear." His words had made bile rise in my throat. What the hell was wrong with him? "I am going to protect all of the riches in this mountain, including you."

"Thorin, I don't know what kind of a game this is-" I started to say, but a harsh scoff interrupted me.

"Game? You think my love for you is a game?" He had stopped in front a doorway to a room with bedroom furnishings.

"Thorin, I'm not who you think I am." I whispered as my eyes snapped to the bed. He sauntered in, waving for me to join him. I kept standing on the outside, until he pulled me in. "Thorin, please."

"You will stay here until I know this mountain is secure enough." He began lighting the large candles in the room. "I have lost you once, I will not lose you again." He went for the door, and slammed it shut behind him, locking it from the outside.

"Thorin! Thorin please open the door! I am not my mother! Thorin!" I screeched as his footsteps became more and more faint. That was it, there was no way out of this room. I was trapped there until Thorin came to his senses. Who knew how long that could take.

* * *

**Fili**:

Thorin had taken Nye, I'm not sure where, but after what I had seen the night before, I knew it wasn't good. It had been hours since we had last seen her.

"Uncle." I bounded into the treasure room with my head held high. "Where is Nylelyth. I saw you take her some where." Thorin rested his hands on the table.

"I am protecting her." He snarled. His eyes were fierce with anger and desire. "Fili, this task can only be appointed to someone I can trust." He clapped his hand on my shoulder. "I need you to make sure she gets food, water, anything she needs, but she cannot leave that room. Do you understand me?" Confusion and disgust bubbled up in my stomach.

"Uncle where is she?" He handed me a small key.

"Down the hallway to the right, fourth door. And Fili?" His eyes grew soft for a moment, something I had not seen Thorin do for a long time. "Keep her safe." I turned away to go find her. Whatever this mess that Thorin was making would not last much longer, I had to get her out of here.

* * *

The hallways were dark and confusing, but some how I had found the room. A soft whimpering came from inside.

"Nye?" I whispered, knocking on the door slightly. "Are you in there? Or am I hearing a ghost?"

"Fili, please let me out." She sniffled slightly. I unlocked the door, and a small figure latched itself around my neck. Her tear stained cheeks wiping on my coat. "Thank you." She whispered.

"We need to talk." I brought her in the room and closed the door behind me. "Thorin is not himself, Nye. Why has he locked you in here?"

"He told me he was protecting all of the treasures of Erebor, including me. Fili, he thinks I'm my mother, he has called me her name many times. I don't understand, Fili. Why is he doing this?" Her voice cracked as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

"It's the gold." I whispered back to her, brushing a hand through my hair. "It's the gold, Nye. It's making him delusional. This isn't normal Thorin, we have to get you out of here."

"No, I'm not leaving. Not now, not after everything." She argued, crossing her arms over her chest. "I won't leave, I won't put Kili through that again."

"Nylelyth if you don't leave, I fear worse things will happen." The realization that Thorin could possibly do worse than just locking her in a room and trying to kiss her, flooded her face. "I don't want you to leave. Trust me, you are my brother's world, you are everything to him. I hate to see him broken, but I fear if you don't Thorin will do something to permanently damage your relationship with everyone in the company."

"How am I supposed to get out?" She looked up at me with desperation in her eyes. "Thorin has me under lock and key, if you get caught sneaking me out, that will be the end of you." A small pitter patter of footsteps outside had ripped our attention away from the conversation. Bilbo, the mysterious hobbit, came through the unlocked door.

"I'll get her out." He announced to us.

"How long have you been standing out there?" I asked, my brow furrowing.

"Long enough. She needs to get out of here, and I'll do it." He proudly put his hands in his pockets and held his head high.

"If Thorin catches you, you'll be thrown from the gate! He would waste no time getting rid of you." She stood to join him at the door.

"Which is why he won't catch us."


	24. Remember Us

**Alright guys! I made some changes! *drumroll* I changed my OC's name! Her name is now Nylelyth or Ny for short. I was thinking about it the other day, and Maude just didn't fit right. Also, I'm making some changes on the previous chapters, just small tweaks, so that the story really fits together like a puzzle. This is my first fanfiction that I've published so I'm very appreciative of you guys being very patient and understanding with me. Thank you so much! As always, let me know what you think. **

**Kili: **

"Uncle, where is she?!" My voice filled only with anger. She had disappeared hours ago, after he had led her away from the construction of the gate. I had stood by, not thinking anything of it, really, but now I wished I had been more concerned.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He replied dryly, standing at the edge of the balcony, looking over the gold.

"Yes. You do Uncle. You know very well what-WHO I'm talking about!" My voice was rising, almost to a yell. "Where is she?!"

"It doesn't matter, where ever 'she' is." He turned towards me, his eyes matched his snarky remark. "What matters is the fact that we must protect this mountain. The people of Laketown have come to us... Searching for their share..." His gaze was lost on the stone floor. I threw my arms up in frustration and stomped out of the room. I wasn't going to get yet another lecture from him about "protecting the mountain."

"Fine, I'll find her myself." I spoke to myself aloud. I snatched a candle from the living room, and went deeper into the halls of Erebor. I wasn't going to rest before I found her. There were only so many places she could be, right?

**Nylelyth:**

The steady rise of winter was eminent on top of the gate. The solid white moon sat against the black sky, speckled with stars. My heart thumped in my chest as I twiddled the cold envelope in my hands. The letter was for Kili, the cursive script on the front was hastily written. I wished I could've spent more time on it, I wished I could have spent hours telling him everything that was on my mind and on my heart. I wished he would have known how much he really meant to me. But staying here, in the mountain, was playing a dangerous game, I knew I had to leave. With the rope finally secure around the pillar, Bilbo came over to me for the goodbye. I knew it was going to be painful.

"Here, give this to him for me?" I shoved the letter in his hand, biting my lip to hold back the tears.

"Of course, Ny. Of course." Bilbo tucked the letter in his waist coat. His eyes were gloomy as he looked up at me. "You better be off, then."

"Oh, Bilbo!" I pulled him into a bear hug. "You know I wouldn't leave if I had to."

"I know, Ny." I could hear the tears behind his voice. I pulled away, and brushed a heavy hand through my hair.

"Will you tell everyone I said goodbye? Don't leave anyone out. Not even Dwalin." I couldn't help the fact that my lip quivered as I spoke.

"Will you be back?" He asked, obviously pained.

"I don't know, Bilbo. I don't know what's going to happen."

"If you don't, please don't forget about us. Don't forget any of us." Bilbo stuck his chubby little hand in his pocket, and pulled out a small acorn. "I want you to have this. To remember our journey."

"Where did you get this?" I stared at the small seed with wide eyes.

"I picked it up in Beorn's garden. I have another one, don't worry." He pulled another one out of his pocket to prove it. "I want you to, where ever you end up permanently, to plant this. And look at it to remember everything that happened, remember that any one of us would give our lives for you." The tears had started flowing viciously as I slowly took the tiny acorn out of his hand.

"Thank you, Bilbo. For everything." I placed a small kiss on his forehead, and headed for the rope. "I hope to see you all again."

"Nylelyth?" Bilbo called again, his hand in the pocket of his waist coat. He pulled out a large glowing gem, that was the size of his hand. The Arkenstone, there could be no doubt about it. I pushed it back into his pocket as fast as I could.

"Bilbo, when did you find this?"

"Thorin sent me down, when we first got inside the mountain. I held on to it. Thorin is not himself anymore." He shuffled his feet quietly. "I fear what will happen if he finds it."

"I know you will find a way to do the right thing, Bilbo." I whispered. "I must go, before anyone sees."

"Right, right." He nodded solemnly. I headed back for the rope, and started down the side of the mountain. How I hoped I would see them again.

**Kili:**

No matter how many candles we lit, the halls were dark. A heaviness surrounded everything, a dark heaviness. It weighed on everyone's shoulders as Thorin delved deeper and deeper into his madness. My search in the halls for Nylelyth had come to a disappointing end. I searched at least half of the mountain, the only evidence I found was a room filled with lit candles, but that could have been anyone. When I returned to the living room, there was an envelope laid gently on my bed roll, with my name hastily written on the front. I ripped it open, not bothering to savor the moment. I knew who it was immediately upon reading it.

_ Kili, _

_ Your uncle is not the same dwarf he once was. I refuse to believe he is incurable, but while I am present, that myth that he cannot be helped becomes a fact. I'm appointing this task to you, Kili Son of Durin, help him. Help him become the fierce and loyal dwarf that he once was. Make him remember his honor, make him remember his nobility. Make him see that there still is more to this world than gold and riches. Make him remember the love he has for his people, and for you. If he has any chance of returning to his normal self, I will be as far away as possible. I believe I have done my service to the Valar, in helping the company of Thorin Oakenshield to reclaim their home. I plan to cross the sea to Aman, to the halls of my Father. That is my final journey. And when you're old and gray, and your grandchildren pile onto your lap, I hope you remember me. Remember us for what we were. You will forever be in my heart. You will forever be my always. _

_ All my love,_

_ Nylelyth (Ny)_

The tears filled the rims of my eyes, making it hard to read the last parts of the letter. A white hot anger bubbled through me. _Thorin did this. _I thought to myself. _Thorin made her leave. _I felt my fists clench until my knuckles turned white.

"Kili?" Fili came over to me, noticing the letter on the ground. "Kili calm down. What is it?"

"You know damn well what it is!" I exploded in rage. Every particle of my being resented Thorin, the dwarf that had taken Fili and I in like his own sons, had betrayed me.

"Kili, you have to calm down." Fili tried to shush me, laying a gentle hand on my shoulder. "What is it?"

"She's gone! She's bloody gone again because of Thorin!" I ripped out of his grip and began to pace angrily. "Why Fee? Why does he have to do this? Out of everything in the world, couldn't he have just let me have my foolish hope that we could've been together? I loved her! I love her! Fee, she was the one for me!" He just stood there, nodding slightly.

"I'm sorry, Kee. I'm so sorry." Was all he said. The pure rage had died down in me, making room for the emptiness that always follows rage.

"I love her, Fee. Doesn't he see that? She was... she was everything to me. She was... my One." I threw my head in my hands and fought back the tears ferociously. Thorin's roar could be heard from the treasure room, calling everyone to the gate once more.

"Come on!" He roared again. Reluctantly, only by Fili's request, I joined the rest of the company along the top of the gate. An army of elves stood across the way, lining the city of Dale. I cursed under my breath, Thorin was in no mood for negotiations. He stood in the center, the bulky crown upon his head, looking like less of a king than he ever had. I clenched my jaw as a singular rider, upon a white horse galloped to the front of the gate.

"Hail Thorin son of Thrain! King under the mountain! We are glad to see you alive beyond hope!" The familiar voice called to us. Bard sat before us, his same worn jacket and boots as before.

"Why do you come to the gates of the king under the mountain armed for war?" Thorin's voice was harsh against the brisk winter air.

"Why does the king under the mountain fence himself in, like a robber in his hole?"

"Maybe that is because I am expecting to be robbed!"

"My lord, we have not come to rob you. We only seek fair settlement. Will you not speak to me?" Thorin nudged his head towards the small hole in the wall that had been created specifically for that reason. Before Thorin had made his way down the staircase he turned to Balin.

"Send a raven to Dain, tell him to send his armies as soon as they can be readied. Tell him to prepare himself for war." His face was prideful, and he glanced to me. He made his way down the stair case and everyone glanced around at each other, not prepared for the fact that we may be going to war. Hesitantly, Balin went to fetch a piece of parchment paper. Fili laid a hand on my shoulder as my jaw clenched further. Thorin was being foolish, he was more childish than I was. One by one, we made our way down from the top of the gate to stand behind Thorin.

"A bargain? What choice do we have but to barter our birth right for blankets and food? To ransom our future in exchange for our freedom? You call that a fair trade?" Thorin's voice grew louder as he snarled. "Tell me, Bard the Dragon Slayer, why should I honor such terms?" A soft but firm voice from the opening echoed.

"Because you gave us your word." Bard replied. Arguing with Thorin was pointless, and now that he was out of his mind, it was even more pointless. Thorin turned away, his eyes full of hate, he looked to us and then back to the opening.

"Be gone! Ere arrows fly!" Thorin roared. Bilbo stepped forward.

"What are you doing?!" His panicked voice rang over all of us. "You cannot go to war!"

"This does not concern you." He snapped back.

"Excuse me?! But just in case you haven't noticed, there is an army of elves out there, Thorin. And not to mention several hundred angry fisherman. You are in fact out numbered." Bilbo stood with his hands on his hips, and an unbelieving look on his face.

"Not for much longer." Thorin replied, his eyes growing soft. It was true, we were going to war.

**p.s. I'm sorry for all the email chapter updates if anyone got those. I had to go through and change a lot of things and I combined some chapters. And deleting the chapters and then adding them again was the least confusing way for me. Also, I'm going to try to start writing longer chapters. I hope you all enjoyed and feel free to let me know what you think!**


	25. A Traitor In The Ranks

**Nylelyth:**

The cold damp air nipped at the end of my nose as I walked up the pathway. The city of Dale was nothing more than a ghost town. Everything looked and felt abandoned, the light snow making it feel like more of a graveyard than a city. A faint glow from a fire reflected off the old buildings, giving it an eerie feeling. The great hall had been the survivors main campsite. The elves had found where ever they could and set up their canvas tents. Voices grew dim as I trudged by, completely ignoring everything but my feet on the ground.

"I'm looking for Bard?" I asked the nearest person, they pointed in the direction of the watch tower. Nodding in thanks, I walked onward. My heart felt heavier than my feet as I trudged up the path way further. Each step further from the mountain was a step further from the happiness that I could've had. I pushed the pain in my heart back down, and I continued on. At the top of the town, right beneath the watch tower, a huge canvas tent had been set up, the tent of a king no doubt.

"I must speak with Bard." The guards outside the tent looked at me wearily, but one stepped in anyways. Bard stepped out of the tent, his eyes concerned.

"Nylelyth. What are you doing here?"

"Bard, it's...it's Thorin. He's not himself any more." Tears threatened to over flow my eyes, but I pushed them back as hard as I could.

"I know, this morning I went to try to negotiate. He would not budge a single inch." He crossed his arms, and sighed deeply. "Please, come in. You must be freezing." He led me inside the tent, and there stood Gandalf and Thranduil, both looking utterly shocked to see me.

"Nylelyth?" Gandalf gasped. I only nodded slightly, to confirm his thoughts. He glanced back at Thranduil who was not very entertained by the situation. "You need to set aside your petty grievances with the dwarves. War is coming! The cess pool of Dol Guldur has been emptied. You are ALL in mortal danger!" Gandalf''s warning had stirred everyone but Thranduil, who poured himself another glass of wine.

"Dol Guldur?" I asked, my pack falling to the ground. "You are sure?"

"What are you talking about?" Bard's brow was deeply furrowed, and concern washed over his face once more.

"I see you know nothing of wizards." Thranduil argued, his voice louder than all of ours. "They are like a winter thunder on a wild wind rolling in, but sometimes a storm, is just a storm."

"Not this time! The orc armies are on the move. These are fighters, they have been bred for war." Gandalf sighed as he twiddled his thumbs together.

"The army of the enemy is on the move." I rested my hands on the nearest table. "We must warn Thorin."

"But why show his hand now?" Thranduil argued again from behind his wine.

"Because we forced him! When the company of Thorin Oakenshield set out to reclaim the mountain." Gandalf stood at the canvas door, staring upon the mountain, his hands held in front of him.

"When I gave away my location. That's why." I paced the length of the tent. "We were never supposed to reach the mountain, and now the enemy is bringing the hammer down."

"Azog was sent to stop them." Gandalf turned back around to face the annoyed Thranduil and concerned Bard. "He doesn't want the mountain only for the riches inside, but for the strategic position. It is the key to reclaiming the lands of the north! If Angmar should rise again, all shall fall."

"The enemy wants the mountain, but he wants me more." I stood by Gandalf now. "He will stop at nothing to get it, if that's what it takes he will unleash an army on us."

"And these armies, Gandalf," Thranduil answered coldly. "Where are they?" A few stutters came out of Gandalf's mouth before he was rendered speechless. He marched out the canvas door, and I followed.

"Gandalf." I stood next to him as he stared at the mountain once more. He acknowledged my presence with a small nod. There was a moment of silence before anyone spoke. "Thorin is not himself."

"I know, my dear." He deeply sighed. "I know."

"He thought I was my mother, Gandalf." I faced him, my arms crossed. "Why?"

"Like you said, Thorin is not himself. The gold, it is seeping into his mind, it is corrupting him. He may of thought you were your mother out of pure illusion."

"Why? Why my mother?"

"When your mother fought beside Thorin, it was not out of the goodness of her heart." He replied.

"But...What of my father?"

"You're father returned to Aman." He fiddled with his thumbs. "He was only here for a short while."

"You mean to say, Thorin and my mother...?"

"Well, I do not know to what extent their relationship blossomed, but there was an undeniable attraction." My head was spinning, the ground beneath me refusing to stay still. The pieces of the puzzle in my mind were beginning to fit together. There was more silence, the thoughts in my mind racing faster than they ever had.

"I was to ride to Rivendell tomorrow." I finally said, folding my hands together.

"Lord Elrond would welcome you with open arms. And I'm sure Lady Arwen would be happy to see you." He replied, his gaze still on the mountain.

"They would not survive this war, Gandalf. And I could not forgive myself if I left my friends behind." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small smirk appear on his lips.

"This is a war they cannot fight." Bard's voice washed over us. "They will have to surrender." Out of no where, the small pitter patter of footsteps sounded behind us, and Bilbo came popping out of the shadows.

"Bilbo Baggins!" I rushed over to him, pulling him into yet another hug. "I have never been so happy to see anyone in my life!"

"If you think the dwarves will give up, they will not. They will fight to the death over this mountain." Bilbo informed the three of us. "I need to give you something."

"Bilbo, are you sure?" I asked him, I knew he was doing the right thing but he was jeopardizing his trust with the company, if any of them had found out he would be dead by morning.

"Yes, Ny. I need to give it to them." We led Bilbo back into Thranduil's tent, and not to surprising, he was sitting in his chair enjoying more wine.

"If I'm not mistaken, this is the hobbit that stole the key to my dungeons under the nose of my guards." Thranduil pointed out in an annoyed manner.

"Yes, uhm." Bilbo shifted uncomfortably. I bit my lip to hold back my laughter. "Sorry about that. I came to give you this." He pulled out the Arkenstone, wrapped in a dirty cloth and set it on the table. Slowly unwrapping it to reveal it, everyone's eyes grew wide with astonishment.

"The heart of the mountain, the king's jewel!" Thranduil exclaimed, his eyes not parting with the strange glowing jewel.

"And worth a king's ransom." Bard glanced over at Bilbo. "How is this yours to give?"

"I took it as my fourteenth share."

"But why? You owe us no loyalty."

"I'm not doing it for you!" Bilbo practically laughed. "I know that dwarves can be obstinate and pigheaded and difficult, suspicious and secretive…with the worst manners you can possibly imagine, but they also brave and kind...and loyal to a fault. I've grown very fond of them, and I would save them if I can. Thorin values this stone above all else. In exchange for its return, I believe he will give you what you are owed. There will be no need for war!" I smiled at Bilbo, the tears almost falling from my eyes. How I wanted to rush back into the mountain, to see Kili at least once more.

* * *

**Kili: **

The night had been cold, the damp kind of cold that made your bones shiver. I sat on the gate, my shift on the night watch had been utterly useless, but I volunteered anyway. I needed the alone time. A dark silenced loomed over the halls, the silence before war. We knew in our hearts that we could not win this, that there was no way Dain's armies could get here in time for battle. We accepted that some of us would not make it. The chilled breeze went straight through my tunic, right into my core.

"Kili." A calm voice sounded behind me, I turned to find Fili standing at the top of the stairs. He sat next to me, silence filled the space between us.

"She needs to quit leaving all the time." I whispered, sliding the dagger across the stone.

"She has her reasons, Kee." He stared out into the night, a small glow from Dale lit up his face.

"Why? Because Uncle forced her?" I slid the dagger off the stone harshly. "She said it herself, she didn't want to leave."

"Kee, it's much more complicated than that." My jaw clenched in rage.

"How? How could it be more complicated? She left because of Thorin, because he forced her to. It's not much more complicated than that." I resumed sharpening my dagger, anger fueling me. Fili put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"When Thorin comes to his senses, he will explain." Without another word he got up and went back down the stairs.

* * *

The armor sat heavy on my shoulders. With the sun barely on the rise, the company of Thorin Oakenshield stood atop the gates of Erebor. The wind chilled beneath my armor, the golden chain mail underneath the steel plated armor. The vibration from the Elven army marching towards us could be felt from the ground. They stood in perfect rows. And when the Elven king, and Bard came riding up, the armies stepped out of the way in a fluid motion, almost looking like a dance. On the back of Bard's white horse sat a familiar figure. The familiar oak hair, the olive toned skin, her chocolate brown eyes with the tiniest bit of gold in them stared up at me. Nylelyth sat behind Bard, along with the army that we were going to war with.


	26. The Fall Of A King

**Kili: **

"I have come to tell you," The Elven king started, he sat high up on his moose and he held his head higher. "Payment of your debt has been offered and accepted."

"What payment?" Thorin roared back. "I have offered you nothing!" I couldn't tear my eyes away from the small figure that was hunched behind Bard. Her worn cloak covering her features as it did the first day I met her, lost and paranoid in the woods waiting to be killed.

"We have this!" Bard pulled out a shining white gem from his coat pocket. It twinkled and glowed in the early morning light.

"They have the Arkenstone?" Thorin turned to the dwarves at his side, and then to the army in front of him. "Theives! That stone belongs to me! It belongs to the king!"

"And the king may have it! In our good will. But first he must honor his word." Bard replied, a hidden anger to his voice. Thorin turned from the wall, his eyes glancing between all of the company.

"They are taking us for fools... It's a filthy lie!" He snapped back around to face Bard again. "The Arkenstone is in this mountain! It's a trick! You can keep that, and the rat that sits behind you!" I felt the anger in my finger tips, every part of me wanted to toss Thorin off this gate. Fili laid a gentle hand on my shoulder, as if to calm me down. "She is worth nothing!"

"Kili...Stay calm." Fili half whispered, trying to pull me away from him.

"I would rather be dead, than associate with her!" He kept going. The white hot rage flowed through my body. Fili kept pulling me back towards him but my feet kept making their way towards Thorin. "She's a traitor! A liar! A WHORE!" The last words hit my ears like a hammer, and all my self restraint fell through the floor.

"What did you say?!" I rushed towards my Uncle, my fists ready to fight to whatever end to knock him back into his senses. He stood a bit taller as he faced me. Fili's arms wrapped around me, holding me back. "Let me go! How dare you! Fili! Let me go!"

"She was the one who took the Arkenstone from us, Kili. She is no longer welcome in my prescence and she shouldn't be in yours. She is a traitor." He replied, holding his head higher.

"I-it wasn't her." A small voice piped up from behind everyone. Bilbo stood, his shoulders lowered, and his eyes boring into Thorin. "I gave it to them."

"You..." Thorin slowly turned to face the hobbit.

"I took it as my fourteenth share."

"You would steal from me?"

"Steal from you?" The hobbit practically laughed. "No, no. I may be a burgurlar but I like to think that I'm an honest one. I'm willing to let it stand against my claim."

"Against your claim? Your claim? You have no claim over me, you miserable rat!" Bilbo shifted uncomfortably in his spot, and Thorin's eyes stabbed him over and over again.

"I wanted to give it to you, many times. But..." He paused for a moment, kicking the dust on the ground.

"But what, thief." Thorin hissed behind his teeth.

"You are changed, Thorin! The dwarf I met in Bag End would never have gone back on his word! Would never have doubted the loyalty of his kin!"

"Do not speak to me of loyalty!" Thorin turned to Fili and I. "Throw him from the rampart! Do you not hear me?!" Thorin glanced around at all of the dwarves, who were all silently protesting. He grabbed Fili by the arm, and before he could do anything I ripped Fili out of his grip. "I'll do it myself!" He marched to Bilbo, his strides heavy and long. His arms were out stretched and grabbed onto anything that he could find. Bilbo's head was hanging over the edge of the gate, when a familiar voice called up to us.

* * *

**Nylelyth:**

"Thorin! Let Bilbo go, now!" I had gotten off of Bard's horse and was now standing before the makeshift doors of Erebor. Above me, the hobbit's head hung limply over the side.

"If you don't like my burgurlar," Gandalf's voice came from behind me. "Then please, don't damage him. Return him to me." Thorin's grip on Bilbo loosened enough for him to get out. He sprinted to the rope that had hung over the side and cascaded down. "You're not making a very splendid figure as King Under the Mountain, are you? Thorin son of Thrain!" Gandalf stood next to me, his gray robes sweeping behind him like a cape.

"Never again will I have dealings with wizards! Or back country whores! Or Shire-rats!" Thorin hollered. The words hit me like a knife, but I did not let myself falter. I saw Fili holding his younger brother back, the mess of brown hair had been wrestling against him to get to his Uncle.

"Are we resolved? The return of the Arkenstone, for what was promised." Bard yelled from behind Gandalf and I. Bilbo came sprinting up to us when he got off the wall safely, his eyes in a panic. "Will you have peace, or war?" There was a moment of silence, the only sound was the wind on brushing against metal armor. The tension was rising, Thorin would be responsible for the battle that could take place here and knowing him, we would be fighting at any second. My gaze settled on Kili. The prince of Erebor stood above me, silent and angry. His brother still holding on to him, and his gaze never leaving me. I could see his face, how his eyebrows furrowed together like they always did when he was angry, how his lips pursed at the fact that I stood before him on the opposing side. His shoulders back, like they always were when he was trying to be strong. His brother held on to him, making sure he didn't do anything irrational. I would have done anything for those dwarves, and in that moment I was prepared to do anything if it meant saving them.

Suddenly, a raven flew in from the East, landing directly on the top of the gate.

"I will have war!" Thorin's harsh voice washed over all of us. On the hill to the East, a large rumble, ranks on ranks of dwarves marched over the hill, all led by a large red haired dwarf.

"Dain..." I whispered, the chain mail shirt Bard had given me earlier was heavy on my chest.

"Who?" Bilbo asked, his face twisted in a confused manner.

"Thorin's cousin, Dain Ironfoot." I replied, marching along side the elves as they changed positions to face the dwarven army.

"Are they alike?" Bilbo asked again, practically running to keep up with Gandalf and I.

"I have always found Thorin the more reasonable of the two." Gandalf answered. The large dwarf sat upon his armored pig, steel plated armor covered him completely. His army stood still behind him as he paced in front of them.

"Good morning! How are we all?" His booming voice rang over all of us. "I have a wee proposition for you, if you wouldn't mind giving me a moment of your time. Would you mind... just sodding off!?"

"Come now! Lord Dain!" Gandalf called stepping ahead of the crowd. "There is no need for war between elves, men, and dwarves! An army of orcs marches upon the mountain, stand your army down!"

"I will not stand down before any elf! Especially this faithless wooden sprite, Gandalf the _gray._" His last words were hissed from behind his teeth. "He wishes nothing but ill upon my people! If he chooses to stand between me and my kin - I'll split his pretty head open! See if he's still smirking then!" The elven king's smile spread wider across his lips. Dain turned to his army, to rally his troops. There was a rumble in the ground, the vibrations sent up my body rattling the chain mail that stuck to me. The explosion of rock and earth had torn everyone's attention from Erebor to the hills to the south.

"Were-worms..." I heard Gandalf whisper behind his teeth. They were much like regular garden worms, except a least a hundred times the size and with teeth each the size of one man that chewed through rock like leaves. Once the worms had retreated back to their holes, the marching began. Slow and steady at first, but then the armies emerged. Thousands of orcs swarming like ants out of their hole, sounding their horns and ready to battle. They were chaotic and unorganized, but all ready to kill.

* * *

**Thorin:**

The orc army charged against Dain's, the clashing and clanging of metal on metal ringing in my ears.

"I'm going over the wall!" Fili's clouded voice washed over me. "Who's coming with me?!" The synchronized cry of the dwarves hit me, their voices muffled and dim.

"Stand down." Even my own voice didn't seem to quite hit my ears.

"Are we to do nothing?!" Fili shouted, his gaze confused and lost as I backed up towards the stairs leading deeper into the mountain.

"I said, stand down!" The dwarves lowered their weapons in confusion. My feet felt heavy down the stairs, my body not feeling my own. This feeling, the feeling of desire and lust that clouded every sense in my body was getting worse, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

The seams of gold ran from the ceiling of the room down to the very center, meeting with the throne of the king. The stone chair belonged to my grandfather, and his father before him. It was mine now. My crown was heavy on my head, my fur coat sprawled out beneath me as I sat in my throne. The sound of angry footsteps bounced around in the hall.

"Since when did we forsake our own people?" Dwalin's hidden anger could be heard at the end of the hall. "They are dying out there Thorin."

"There are halls beneath halls in this mountain..." I rose from my seat and pressed my fingertips together, devising a plan of action to keep the wealth of my people safe. "Places we can shore up.. Make safe." My own voice faded into the distance as my hearing became less and less.

"Did you not hear me?" Dwalin snapped. "They are dying. Our people. There are people fighting for this mountain that are not even our people. She is fighting for us, Thorin. You know that."

"You do NOT mention that rat in my kingdom! In the halls of my fathers she is nothing but filth!" I spat at him, he stepped back in fear.

"Thorin, Malkyr is dead..." His calm voice seemed like it was yelling to me over a great distance. The vision of her eyes flashed before me, the cool brown with flecks of gold shining in the light of the sun that contrasted her skin. "Nylelyth is fighting for our home! Something that we are not doing! She is going to die for our people, Thorin!"

"Many die in battle. Life is cheap. But a treasure such as this..." I paced the length of the platform. "A treasure of this magnitude cannot be counted in lives lost. It is worth all the blood we can spill, including hers."

"You sit here, with a crown upon your head." He started up the steps with heavy feet. "You have driven away one that we love, the one Kili... And you would sacrifice her for your own amusement? You are lesser now than you have ever been." My hand wrapped around the handle of my sword. Without a second thought or warning, I ripped the sword out, swinging ferociously at the stunned dwarf in front of me.

"GET OUT!" I shouted, my sword finally stopping at my side. "Before I kill you." The last words were barely a whisper. Dwalin turned to me, his disappointing gaze piercing deep into my core. He left without another word, the sound of his marching feet hitting my ears a little bit clearer.

The room had a solid gold floor, there were only traces of the once mighty beast that terrorized these halls. My mind was racing, the words from everyone had sunk deep into my thoughts and they were spinning like a spider making a web.

_You sit here, with a crown upon your head_

_ You are changed Thorin!_

_ Malkyr is dead. _

"I am not my grandfather."

_A sickness lies upon that treasure. _

_ He cannot see beyond his own desire. _

_ Life is cheap. _

_ Thorin please, don't do this._

"I am not my grandfather." The voices grew louder and more menacing with each passing second. At any moment, they could have sprung out of my brain and strangled me themselves. The floor was sinking. The floor was swallowing me whole. The faces of my kin, my friends, those who had never left my side as I led them through perilous danger. Anger filled me, I had left my people. I abandoned them in a fit of passion for a woman who I thought had come back from the dead, and piles of gold that could do nothing for me. _Nylelyth. _The memories slid their way into my thoughts like the morning after a black out drunk night.

"What have I done?" The words escaped my lips. I had unintentionally driven her away. And Bilbo! He had done the unthinkable, only to see me come back to my senses and I had driven him away as well. I ripped the crown from my head, the ground was no longer swallowing me. I had to get the company, to my friends and to my kin. We were to fight our own battle.

**Hey guys sorry for the late update, I needed to take a little bit of a break because I wasn't doing very good. But I'm back and hoping to get back into the routine of things. As always leave a review or something and let me know what you think! Thank you so much!**


	27. The Battle For Durin's Folk

**Before you begin I just want to let you know that school has started for me so I'm going to be posting new chapters every 2 weeks. If I can finish it before then, I will post it, but mostly every 2 weeks. Thank you so much and don't forget to review or favorite if you like it! I love to know what you guys think. Enjoy!**

**Thorin: **

The sun shone brighter, the air felt clearer, and for the first time in days my hearing was not clouded. I removed the heavy fur coat, and the bulky crown sat on the floor in the hall of the kings, never again would I wear that crown. The chain mail rested heavily on me as I marched to the gates with a new found purpose. There sat my kin, my friends, those who were prepared to follow me to the end. Kili rose, anger in his eyes and I could not blame him.

"I will NOT sit behind a wall of stone while others fight OUR battles FOR us!" He shouted as I got closer. "It is not in my blood, Thorin. I will not abandon her."

"I know, Kili. You all have been wronged by me. Kili, I know you could not ever forgive me for what I have done to you." I swallowed harshly.

"Why did you have to send her away? Why?" Kili replied, his voice cold.

"I was...not seeing the same person you were. Kili. I saw someone else, and the old wounds had been reopened." I stepped closer to him.

"He saw her as her mother. He saw her as Malkyr." Fili chimed in, the softness in his voice made it easier to continue.

"I had no intention of making her leave, I wanted her to stay." I kept explaining.

"He locked her in a room so she wouldn't leave." Fili said, his arms crossed. The company was all staring at us by now. "I helped her escape, but it was only for her own good, Kee. Uncle was not in his right mind."

"I-it's true." I finally stuttered out, my hands shaking with a slight relief to get this all off my chest. He looked at me in disgust, his lips turned up and his brow deepened. "I now know what I have done is wrong, wrong beyond belief or hope of forgiveness. I cannot demand this from any of you." I turned to the rest of the dwarves as well. "But will you fight for me, one last time?" They were silent, their gazes fixed upon my nephews and I. Slowly, one by one, they rose with their weapons in their hands, all retaliating with a common phrase.

"We fight for you, my king."

* * *

**Nylelyth: **

The battle raged on as the orcs stormed the city of Dale and pushed forward to Erebor. Our forces were waning, the orcs cutting us down one by one, growing closer and closer to the gates.

"Pull back to the gates! Pull back!" I yelled alongside Dain, shoving whatever dwarf that was in front of me back towards the gates. We had met briefly in battle, not bothering to explain exactly who I was besides "I'm a friend of Thorin's" and then cutting down more of the enemy.

"Where's Thorin?! We need him!" Dain called over to me, in between ramming orcs down with his hammer. The thought of Thorin sitting behind the wall, in his room of gold, lapping and bathing in it like it was a fresh water stream, had only angered me to the point where anyone in front of me was as good as dead. The army of dwarves regrouped in front of the gates. There was a dull banging, from inside the gates, the sound of movement. A smile slightly formed on my lips, and I went back to rallying the troops beside me.

"We fight for Erebor! We fight for Thorin! We fight for all Durin's folk!" The dwarves ahead of me cheered, and the sound of the gates being clobbered down had torn everyone's attention away. The king of Erebor had returned. Running out of their mountain, the dwarves followed their king in a line.

"To the King!" I shouted alongside Dain as we charged the orc ranks. The smile I had hidden before sat on my lips for longer than needed. Kili ran beside me, the smile on his face was prevalent. We met eyes for a moment, my fears melting away at the sight of his warmth. Colliding with the army, I tried to keep my eyes on him as best as I could without getting myself killed. He was a skilled fighter, better than I could have imagined. His blade carved through orcs so easily, and the fluidity of his motions made it look like he was dancing.

"We may yet make it through this." I whispered to myself.

The orcs ahead of me seemed endless, each attacking harder than before. My arms grew weak. My hands holding my weapon drearily. I pushed harder. I had lost Kili between the orcs, and I was surrounded. My eminent death felt closer than I ever could have imagined, but I pushed on. Slicing and slashing anything in front of me that posed a threat. Out of the darkness of the war, sat a single beacon of hope. Balin's snow white hair. It was littered with dirt, and disheveled unbelievably but it was him. It was someone other than these blasted orcs who seemed to pop up out of no where.

"Balin!" I called, my voice barely reaching him. He turned, and the bright smile lifted his lips. Suddenly from behind him, a sword dug deep into his back and ripped through his belly. "Balin! NO!" I pushed through, jabbing anything in front of me with my sword just to get to him. By the time a path was clear, it was too late. He had been injured beyond cure.

"Lass." He coughed, the blood dripping from his mouth. I pulled him into my arms gently.

"B-Balin." I forced the tears back. His blood coating my hands. "I'll find Oin. You are going to live Balin." The orcs had moved on, pushing forward towards Dale.

"It's too late for me." He winced in pain.

"Balin...no, no, no. You can't do this." I argued, the tears slipping. "You have to, you can't leave Thorin now. You can't leave us now." He let out a pitiful laugh.

"I have done my duties to my king. He is more ready for this kingdom than he ever has been." He coughed more blood, and paused for a moment. "Nylelyth?"

"Yes, Balin?" The tears had flowed at a steady rate.

"Marry Kili. As soon as you can." He coughed again. "It's not every day a dwarf stumbles upon his One in the forest." We laughed together, his eyes meeting mine through the tears. "Tell them all...Tell them I never would have made it this far with out them."

"I will Balin." I held him tighter as his breath became shallow, his heart beat fainter, his eyes more droopy.

"Give...our people a princess...worth fighting for...Nylelyth." He winked one last time, his hand that was clutched to his chest fell to the ground with a thud. The tears I thought I could hold back exploded from my eyes without missing a beat. I pulled his eyelids shut and slid him off of my lap. I sat there for a moment, tears soaking my face, shaking and shivering. The snow had started to fall, a light snow that would pass in minutes. It covered his body, mixing with the blood that pooled around him. The sound of hooves on the cold dirt had torn my attention away from the body of my friend before me.

"Nylelyth!" Kili rode toward me on a mountain goat, his weapon in hand and eagerness about his faces. Swooping me up on to his saddle, Kili rode on, following his uncle towards Raven Hill.

* * *

The meeting of the heavens and the earth made a mist hang over the deserted fortress. Azog had abandoned his post, leaving an eery feeling hanging in the air. I stood by Fili and Kili, my weapon in hand. Thorin and I glanced at each other. He looked brighter, and clearer, like a fog had been rubbed away and finally the true Thorin Oakenshield stood before me.

"Nylelyth..." He stepped forward slightly, his eyes catching mine as I looked at him again. "I...I'm..." He stammered on, the words getting caught in his throat.

"I accept your apology." I bowed my head to him, and he followed. With the new found peace between us, he searched the surrounding area for evidence of the Pale Orc.

"Where is he?" He whispered to himself.

"It looks empty, he must have fled!" Kili turned excitedly towards me, but I knew better.

"He would not abandon this battle unless absolutely necessary. And even then, I do not believe he would give up this chance to end the line of Durin." I replied, standing towards the edge gazing up at the tower across the way.

"Fili, Kili, scout out the towers." Thorin ordered the two.

"I'll go." I interrupted him. This brought the gazes of them upon me.

"No." Kili immediately rejected the idea.

"I am smaller, and would make less noise. You two sound like trolls when you walk." I continued.

"She's right Kili, she is quieter than you." Thorin glanced between Kili and I.

"No. No. No. There's no way. She'll get caught." Kili shook his head viciously

"There's no way, it's too dangerous for her." Fili agreed with his brother, standing beside him.

"Has danger really ever stopped me before?" I sat a hand on my hip and glared at the two brothers as they both shook their heads. Thorin turned to me with a light in his eye.

"You stay low, and out of sight. If you see something, DO NOT engage. Do you understand me?" He commanded me while putting a warm hand on my shoulder. "If we feel something is wrong, we are going to follow." I nodded heavily and backed away from the dwarf king.

"Ny, please don't do this. At least let me go with you." Kili pleaded with me, his eyes filled with desperation.

"Kili," I placed my hand on his cheek. "I will always come back to you." He nodded, looking only at the ground. With that final word, I turned and headed towards the watch tower. My sword felt heavier, the chain mail was weighing me down. There was a river that ran right between the watch tower and the platform, it was frozen solid, making an easy pathway. The mist lifted for a moment, showing the watch tower in its entirety. I reluctantly climbed the stairs leading into the ruins. There was a fowl scent in the air. I rounded the corner into the dark tunnel. The wind nipped the tip of my nose, my heart was practically jumping out of my chest. I came to an intersection of tunnels. Footsteps behind me forced me down the left wing, deeper into the ruins. The footsteps grew louder, pushing me deeper and deeper until I hit the outside. The tunnel opened up into a large platform that was almost to the top of the tower, it hung over the site of the battle field. The mystery footsteps stopped directly behind me.

"Well, look who survived this long? I wasn't expecting that." I whirled around to find a familiar golden haired figure standing in the doorway of the tunnel.

"No..." Was all I could mutter before he sprinted forward, knocking me to the ground.


End file.
